For those of you who grew up in the 90's and 00's, you probably remember infomercials, which were TV shows broadcast overnight—usually from 1:00 a.m. until 6:00 a.m.—promoting and selling products. The format was quite simple: the seller promoted a product or service with a toll-free telephone number that people could call to order. After originating in the United States, this phenomenon spread around the world, becoming an industry with an estimated value of over $200 billion.
Take a moment now to consider how YouTubers, TikTokers, and live shopping events have swept the Web in the last few years. Doesn't it just seem like another form of teleshopping? Media has changed, but the core concept has not. TV sellers in the 90s were similar to influencers today. There was a dark web of television in those TV shows. Today, live shopping is becoming the dark web of ecommerce.
Nevertheless, live shopping experiences have not reached their full potential. Customer experience is still outdated. To complete a purchase, customers are directed to a website. Rather than shopping in the moment, they need to shift their attention to the seller's website. That's the new toll-free number. There has been some evolution, but not much.
The API-first world offers us an opportunity to do better. Live shopping is a form of conversational commerce with great potential for brands and retailers. It is the technology that is lacking. We can fix it as developers. As long as we stop considering the ecommerce website as the final destination for all online transactions.