Monki, H&M’s youth-centric sub-brand has established live streaming on its e-commerce site (the brand doesn’t have an app) in partnership with Swedish live stream start-up Bambuser.

The Buy-From Broadcast: Viewable across 19 territories throughout Asia and Europe, broadcasts are hosted by Monki staff, who present the ‘show’ by trying on and discussing different products. To view, and potentially buy, fans need only hover over a product on-screen to see details, before adding the item to the basket – although it is necessary to leave the video to reach the checkout. Those who miss the live broadcast can also replay (and buy from) the video, with relevant products listed below.

The Interaction: Viewers were able to interact with staff, instructing them to try on or showcase certain products, and could also speak to other viewers, via a scrolling messaging facility displayed to the side of the live stream.

Monki has so far declined to share viewer or sales figures from its streams, but is reprising the initiative once more on December 18, with a stream focused on loungewear for holiday-ready viewers.

As detailed in Broadcast Brandscapes within Retail Meets Media, part of our Dynamic Youth: Gen Z Spotlight Trend, brands including US footwear brand M. Gemi have launched live-commerce initiatives while American streetwear platform NTWRK has formalised the process, adding high-calibre script writers to elevate its broadcasting. However, live commerce is a more advanced genre in the Asia-Pacific region – its power was evidenced during Singles’ Day this year, when audience numbers and sales broke records. See Singles’ Day 2019: Live and Legacy-Rousing for more.

See also Reflexive Retail: Live, Emotional and On-Demand.