U.S. livestreaming sales could jump 60 percent this year, according to a report released by Coresight Research Tuesday.
The market research firm’s quarterly livestreaming update, based on a survey it conducted in April, projected U.S. livestreaming sales will reach $32 billion in 2023, up from an estimated $20 billion last year.
The forecasted increase in revenue comes as video-sharing platforms, particularly YouTube, overtake social media sites like Instagram and Facebook as the dominant platform U.S. shoppers view livestreams on. According to Coresight’s survey, 70 percent of U.S. livestream viewers—defined as those who watched a stream in the past three months—watched a shoppable livestream on a video-sharing platform, just above the 68 percent who said the same for social media.
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Of those using video-sharing sites, 93 percent of respondents said they watched a livestream on YouTube. Just 33 percent said the same of the next-most popular platform, Twitch, while 24 percent and 21 percent used Discord and Vimeo, respectively. Of those who viewed a livestream on a social media platform, 81 percent used Facebook, 58 percent Instagram and 51 percent TikTok. With the introduction of TikTok Shop in the U.S. in November, the platform could see its numbers grow moving forward, Coresight noted.
Just two in five livestream viewers said they used online marketplaces like Amazon and Poshmark, which in April launched its new peer-to-peer live shopping feature Posh Shows. Livestreaming platforms came in fourth with 32 percent adoption, followed by TV network websites and apps with 31 percent, retailer websites and apps with 28 percent and brand websites and apps, also with 28 percent.
“Find a good deal” remained the primary motivation for viewing a livestream, with 45 percent of Coresight’s respondents citing it as one of their top three reasons for watching. More than a third, 34 percent, said they watch shoppable livestreams to “discover new products or services,” while 31 percent said they wanted to “get more information about a known product or service.” Slightly less, 27 percent said they want to engage with brands they liked, while 25 percent want to learn the best ways to use a product or service.
Among livestream viewers, just 39 percent said they had watched a fashion—including apparel, footwear, jewelry and accessories—stream. More than two in five said the same of other categories, meanwhile, with 48 percent, 45 percent and 44 percent of livestream viewers saying they had watched a home, beauty or food stream, respectively.
Of those who purchased via a shoppable livestream, however, fashion led the way, with 58 percent saying they had bought an item from the category, well ahead of the next-closest category, food, at 49 percent. This marked a significant departure from Coresight’s data for the prior quarter, which showed 51 percent of viewers watching fashion videos and 36 percent of buyers purchasing from fashion streams.
For shoppers who watched livestreams on retailers’ websites or apps, Walmart remained the most popular store across every category. Among fashion viewers, 63 percent viewed a Walmart stream. Macy’s, Target, Nordstrom and Shein rounded out the top five, with 42 percent, 40 percent, 36 percent and 35 percent, respectively, saying they watched a livestream on the retailer’s site or app.
Consumers increased their spending across all categories compared to the prior quarter, with consumer electronics/home improvement receiving the highest average spending—$665 in the prior three months. Fashion, however, saw a substantial jump of its own as shoppers spent, on average $554 over the prior three-month period, up from $423 a quarter earlier.
Compared to other categories, fashion shoppers were disproportionately wealthy, with 52 percent reporting an income of $200,000 or more. Just 36 percent of consumer electronics/home improvement shoppers came from the same income bracket. Even smaller percentages of beauty and food livestream buyers made $200,000 or more.
“Trustworthy” and “knowledgeable” once again ranked as the top two attributes of livestream hosts among viewers, with “sincere” coming in third. “Celebrity” meanwhile proved the least influential attribute of a livestream host when it comes to driving purchases.
