Verishop introduces livestream shopping

Dive Brief:

Amid a larger industry push toward livestreaming, Verishop is releasing a livestream shopping feature within its app to connect shoppers with experts, brands and new products in its iOS app, the company announced on Monday.
The company is kicking off the feature with more than 125 livestream shopping programs per week for 12 hours per day with more than 115 expert streamers. The streamers will promote more than 125,000 items on the platform, the company said.
The app will showcase brands during the livestreams like R+Co, Nicole Saldana and 1822 Denim. Among those hosting livestreams are actress and influencer Inanna Sarkis, YouTube personalities Jourdan Sloane and Gabriel Zamora, and TikTok influencer Taylor Hage, per the announcement.

Dive Insight:

Taking a page from livestream commerce veterans like QVC and HSN, Verishop joins other startups like ShopShops, Whatnot, and Talkshoplive to capitalize on the up-and-coming livestream shopping market in the U.S. Verishop said it plans to open up livestreaming to more streamers in the next few months.

Coresight Research predicts that the U.S. livestream shopping market will reach $25 billion by 2023. Though livestream commerce is already popular in China, U.S. brands and retailers hope to connect with American shoppers through the emerging trend.

But as startups carve out their share of the livestream shopping market, established retailers and social media companies are releasing their own livestream shopping capabilities, too. Amazon unveiled its livestream shopping component on its website in 2019. Nordstrom rolled out its interactive livestreaming platform in March. Meanwhile, Facebook kicked off its summer livestream shopping series in May.

In December, Verishop launched its group shopping feature to let up to five users shop together. The month prior, the startup also released various social shopping features, including allowing brands and users to post to the platform, tag products, and upload photos and videos. Last September, the platform began vetting brands before allowing them into the Verified Shops program.