Consumer interest in live commerce—which enables real-time product purchasing and interaction with a host during a live video event—continues to grow. Senior partners Kevin Wei Wang and Stephan Zimmermann and coauthors find that in China, the most mature of all live-commerce markets, groceries were the category most purchased by live-commerce users during the past 12 months, a trend accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic. Clothing topped the list for Latin America, the United States, and Europe.
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A bubble chart reveals the top 5 product categories most frequently purchased via live commerce in the past 12 months in China, Europe, Latin America, and the US. There is notable variation between regions, with few shared preferences in the top 5 categories. In China, 54% of live-commerce purchases fall under groceries, a category not featured in the top 5 of other regions. Clothing ranks within the top 2 categories for all 4 regions, and hair care appears in the top 5 across the board. By region, consumers in China are primarily purchasing groceries, followed by clothing, footwear, skin care, and hair care. Latin America sees a preference for clothing, electronic devices, footwear, fragrances, and hair care. In the US, top purchases include clothing, skin care, fashion accessories, body care, and hair care. And in Europe, shoppers use live commerce most often buy clothing, electronic devices, hair care, fashion accessories, and beauty accessories.
Footnote: Respondents were asked, “What product have you bought via live shopping in the past 12 months?”
Source: McKinsey Global Live Commerce Survey, Aug–Sept 2022.
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To read the article, see “Ready for prime time? The state of live commerce,” July 7, 2023.