The world of retail is changing rapidly, and live stream selling is emerging as a powerful catalyst for this evolution. TikTok has been a trailblazer in the beauty live stream selling space, quickly becoming a key marketing tool that brands and customers are keen to utilize. According to The Drum, 50% of TikTok users have purchased something after watching a TikTok live stream, and a further 50% are interested in branded live streams. The shopping experience works seamlessly thanks to TikTok Shop, the platform's built-in selling tool that allows app users to make product purchases while viewing live content.

In China, where TikTok Shop (Douyin) has been live for five years, several brands live stream for up to eight hours daily, reeling customers in with innovative products and well-liked brand ambassadors. "Influencers such as Austin Li can drive one million product sales per hour," Leslie Ann Hall, CEO of Iced Media, told BeautyMatter. "In China, three-quarters of sales on TikTok Shop are coming from live streams."

In the Western world, TikTok Shop's live stream selling is in its early stages, having launched just four months ago in November 2023. "While the marketplace is only months old, it's already driving unprecedented growth for emerging and established brands. Beauty is the number-one category on TikTok Shop, driving more sales than all other categories combined," Hall adds.

Incubator Bespoke Beauty Brands (which oversees Jason Wu Beauty and Kim Chi Chic Beauty) was the TikTok Live Shopping beauty launch partner for the US in 2023. "We couldn't believe how well live shopping helped us connect with new and existing brand fans," Stacey Tank, CEO of Bespoke Beauty Brands, shared with BeautyMatter. 

Despite the short time live stream selling has been available on TikTok, businesses, including Bespoke Beauty Brands, have already begun executing strategies to make the most out of the tool and connect with consumers in unexpected and insightful ways. At New York Fashion Week, Bespoke Beauty Brands launched live stream selling specifically for Jason Wu Beauty, taking viewers behind the scenes of the runway, giving them an insight into the backstage area and the opportunity to browse the branded products used on models.

"We were one of the first brands to ever go live with TikTok Live Shopping at New York Fashion Week, and the results and buzz were pretty incredible," Tank attested. According to Bespoke Beauty Brands, Jason Wu Beauty's live stream led to a 500% increase in the number of participants compared to the usual average number of viewers, and the “Enter Room Rate" (percentage of people who join after seeing that the brand was live) increased by 44%. The click-to-order rate during the live stream climbed to 37.7%, with the brand noting that anything over 10% is often considered to be a good sales rate.

"We had a much larger and more consistent audience tuning into our TikTok Live Shopping stream to see the behind-the-scenes scoop, and our rate of sale spiked as well," added Tank. "People were keen to see how they could re-create the Jason Wu runway beauty looks in a more accessible way. They also enjoyed seeing a raw and unfiltered peek under the tent as the models prepared to step onto the runway."

Jason Wu Beauty's success with the backstage live stream can be credited to TikTok users' longing to connect with brands on a deeper level, creating a sense of community and belonging. This worked particularly well with the NYFW theme, allowing viewers to feel as if they had a part to play in the runway show and making them feel more than just consumers, particularly for those who would not be able to attend NYFW or similar events but would still like to be involved.

Hall believes that now is "the best time in social media history" for brands to share behind-the-scenes content. “The lo-fi, unpolished TikTok aesthetic is driving consumer interest more than the overproduced content of the Facebook and Instagram eras. This allows brands to connect more authentically with prospective customers and save time and money on costly production and editing," she states.

The ease of use that TikTok's live stream selling provides means that almost any brand has the opportunity to pitch its products online at a low cost, whether a small business selling from a home-made office or a designer beauty brand streaming content from the runway. 

"Fortunately, here in the US, the live streaming strategy that works best on TikTok Shop is unpolished, frequent, and consistent versus big production and expensive sets," Hall states. "That means it's easier and more accessible for more brands to live stream more often, which can lead to follower growth and more targeted content delivery on TikTok overall and, in some cases, sales."

Through live stream selling, audiences can actively participate in brand conversations, observe the products in action, and conveniently order them with a simple tap on the featured item. This innovative approach not only makes runway beauty accessible to a broader audience but also takes advantage of social media's immediate and interactive nature. Although live streams of fashion shows and clickable links for purchasing have become common, the incorporation of live selling signifies an ongoing transformation in social commerce. By utilizing the engaged user base of TikTok and the allure of New York Fashion Week, Jason Wu Beauty is leading the way in this disruptive trend, and the rest of the industry is sure to follow closely behind.