Livestream and Shoppable Video: Why Real-Time Commerce Is Australia’s Next Big Ecomm Opportunity

Australian ecommerce has reached a turning point, with livestream shopping and shoppable video now stealing the spotlight as the fastest-growing channels for retail engagement and conversion. Once only a curiosity borrowed from China’s commerce giants, these formats are rapidly entering the mainstream here and brands that harness their power in 2025 can stand out, build fandom, and drive next-level growth.

What Is Livestream Shopping?

Livestream shopping is more than just a digital event. It’s a real-time experience delivered via social or ecommerce platforms where hosts (often brand reps or influencers) showcase products, answer questions, and enable viewers to buy instantly. Shoppable video expands this by embedding clickable “buy” moments into short, pre-recorded video content.

Why Consumers Are Hooked

‍Three factors give livestream shopping its edge

Authenticity, entertainment, and immediacy. A recent survey shows that 62% of Gen Z and Millennials in Australia feel more confident purchasing after watching live product demos. Unlike traditional ads, livestream events offer two-way communication, Q&A sessions, and genuine storytelling, removing friction and driving emotional buy-in.

Conversion rates back this up
Some Australian brands have reported lift from 2.5% (static ecomm) to 18%+ during a well-produced livestream event. These formats create urgency via limited-time deals, while hosts convert viewers with trust-building authenticity.​

Platform Explosion
Instagram Live, TikTok Shop, Facebook, YouTube, and even specialist platforms like ShopShops are accelerating the local market. Each enables brands to host, promote, and replay live commerce sessions using built-in “add to cart,” AR try-on, and real-time analytics.

Early adopters show best results when integrating video features directly into their product pages with one beauty retailer reporting nearly a quarter of sales now originate from shoppable embedded clips.

Best Practice for Aussie Brands

  • Prep for Live:
    Choose diverse hosts. Script product stories. Always plan offers and audience engagement tactics ahead.
  • Promote Early:
    Announce events across socials and email. Use countdowns and FOMO to drive attendance.
  • Drive Interaction:
    Respond live. Spotlight customer reviews. Use polls and giveaways to boost viewer numbers.
  • Track, Learn, Iterate:
    Post-event, analyse what worked. Review engagement, purchase rates, and retention to improve future events.

Mobile First, Always

Australia’s mobile usage leads the world, with 77% of online shopping now done on smartphones. Livestream and shoppable video integrate naturally with mobile habits, making them frictionless options for younger buyers and busy professionals alike.​

Tech and Tools Making It Easy

  • Shopify Video Shopping apps, TikTok Shop integrations, and AR overlays (like virtual try-on and “tap to buy” demos) have lowered barriers for brands of all sizes.
  • You don’t need an in-house studio. Many top-performing ecomm livestreams run from standard phones, with emphasis on authenticity and relatability.

Measuring Success

  • Key metrics: viewer volumes, chat engagement, add-to-cart rates, sales per stream, repeat attendee rates.
  • Over time, livestream-built communities deliver higher ROI and stronger customer lifetime value than one-off paid channel spikes.

The Opportunity Ahead

While livestream shopping commands over 15% of ecommerce in China and 8% in the US, Australia is still in early adoption, less than one-third of local brands currently run livestream events, but 57% expect to launch them by the end of 2026.

Savvy merchants will experiment now, testing formats and personalities, building data-driven programs, and aligning their online presence for the next wave of “shoppertainment.” The future is real-time, interactive, and video-powered and those who lead will dominate.

‍