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Agora, which develops “real-time engagement” APIs, is making its livestream shopping technology widely available, allowing more brands to build live commerce experiences like shoppable shows, live auctions, personal shopper livestreams, and more. I’m doing it. This solution has been available in beta since 2022.
Agora’s Live Shopping API allows any business to embed interactive livestreams into their platform, potentially increasing sales by showcasing their products in real-time. This technology also helps you provide support to your customers through live chat. Other features include multiple camera angles, video captions, reaction emojis, polls, collaborative live streaming, custom filters, and more.
Agora is also testing new features, the company revealed. For example, Agora has an AI-driven video content moderation extension in beta from trust and safety company ActiveFence that helps merchants protect users from harmful or inappropriate content. . Another experimental tool is real-time transcription, which provides AI-powered live transcription and subtitle services. The company is also working on new features in signaling to enhance synchronization.
“Agora’s real-time engagement platform is chosen by top retail brands and platforms and powers the live shopping experience for hundreds of sites and apps, from fashion brands to professional sports teams,” said Agora’s CEO. Tony Zhao told TechCrunch.
Zhao added that Agora’s clients have “seen an up to 3x increase in conversion rates since implementation.”
One client using the new technology is CommentSold, a live sales platform that powers over 7,000 small and medium-sized fashion retailers. The company leverages this feature to allow merchants to invite collaborators to their shows using a link or QR code. Users can still maintain control of the livestream even when guests join the live shopping session.
CommentSold has driven over $3.8 billion in lifetime gross merchandise value (GMV).
Andrew Chen, Chief Product Officer at CommentSold said: “We’re very excited to deliver a paradigm shift in live selling with these features. They open up new ways for CommentSold sellers to gamify their live selling shows and drive engagement.” “Sellers can now leverage professional hosts, celebrities, and creators to co-host or host live stream shopping events. Plus, they can invite VIP customers to live shows, making it even more interactive. and ultimately lead to increased sales for sellers.”
In addition to live shopping, Agora offers a wide range of products for education companies, including digital whiteboards, voice calling software development kits (SDKs), 3D spatial audio enhancements, telemedicine technology, and more.
Companies are trying to shape their narrative around live shopping, which is booming in the U.S., where the market size is estimated at $31.7 billion this year, but overall e-commerce is set to exceed $1 trillion in 2022. Compared to sales, live shopping alone is sufficient. It accounts for a small percentage of the online retail market. The US has a long way to go when it comes to China’s success in live shopping, now a $327 billion market.