Counterargument

Chen-Wei

Oct, 22, 2020

Counter Argument

The article claims that it is the time to embrace live streaming in retail because the only kind of shopping that exists now is online shopping. Livestream shopping is the best way to reach consumers as they get accustomed to working, buying, and talking online. Retailers who had no adopted live streaming have undergone huge losses during the pandemic period. Due to the pandemic, e-commerce has expanded quickly. E-commerce currently favors the simplest purchases and the ones that can be shipped easily, but other products such as cars and real estate will soon be sold via e-commerce (Duenwald, 2020). Due to today's crisis, live streaming has become more beneficial than virtual reality. That is because it offers entertainment and a sense of community. These are crucial aspects of shopping as many shoppers also want to interact with people as they shop. There has been a sharp increase in the use of retail live streaming by Alibaba through its Taobao Live streaming. Many stores and chains are likely to create live streaming shopping platforms. My opinion is that embracing live streaming is a good thing for businesses because they are able to engage their customers through regardless of their locations.

On the contrary, embracing live streaming may not be a good option for retail businesses because of the problem of timing. Knowing the most appropriate time to start a live stream is a big challenge for retailers. A retailer might start a live stream when the shoppers are offline. That means that he/she will not sell many items because of the lack of an audience. Some of the retailers have their customers in various time zones. That makes it even harder to sell their items because some customers might be asleep when the live stream starts. The retailers may, however, determine the time most people are online and ensure that their live streams are started during that time.

Embracing live streaming is good for businesses as they can engage their customers from home. With the current movement restrictions, it is the right time to embrace live streaming to enhance a business’ reach and its sales. Many shoppers will want to view products before they purchase, and business persons have to provide a platform where their products can be viewed. Live streaming can attract many customers because of the large number of customers in various online platforms.

Reference:

Duenwald, M (2020). The Next Frontier of Shopping Will Be Livestreamed.