When is the Best Time to Host a Livestream Shopping Show?

Livestream shopping is one of the biggest new trends in retail and e-commerce, producing incredible results for retailers and generating previously unheard of conversion rates.

As a trend that originated in China, livestream shopping is quickly becoming a staple of the western marketplace, too, as big name brands – as well as smaller, ambitious businesses – catch on to its potential.

However, the success of livestream shopping campaigns depend on a number of factors, including how engaging the event is, the quality of the stream, the livestream host and – perhaps especially – the time you choose to host your livestream shopping event.

Why Choosing the Right Time is So Important

To maximize the earning potential of your livestream shopping event, you need to draw as large – and as relevant – an audience as possible to your livestream.

To do this, you need to host your liveshopping event at a time your target market is likely to be available. More than this, you need to think about when they’ll be most receptive to making a purchase, to maximize conversion and drive sales.

What to Consider When Choosing Your Livestream Time.

 A number of factors influence when your target market is most likely to attend – and buy from – a livestream shopping event.

With this in mind, here are 4 things you’ll need to take into consideration when scheduling your event.

Who your target customer is.

Depending on the brand you own, you’ll probably be looking to target a particular kind of person, whether they’re a fashionable teenager or a stay-at-home mom.

If it’s the former, you’ll want to host your livestream shopping event after schools close – in the evening – whereas a stay-at-home mom is probably going to have more time during the day to attend a liveshopping event.

So, to figure out when your target demographic will have the most free time, create ‘buyer personas’ along with their likely schedules to schedule the optimum time for your liveshopping event.

Where your target market is based.

 Knowing where your target market is located is crucial because of differing timezones – particularly if you’re selling internationally.

After all, if you schedule your livestream when your target customers are asleep, you’ll instantly kill the success of your liveshopping event.

However, there’s more to consider, even when selling domestically – especially in the US.

For example, if your target customer is usually free in the evenings – but they’re spread out across the US – then you’ll want to compromise between the best times to accommodate both the east and west.

So, you might choose to schedule your liveshopping event at 9pm ET (which is 6pm PT). Or, if the majority of your customer base is located in one part of the US, then you might decide to favor this section of your demographic to yield the greatest results from your livestream shopping event.

Where you host your event.

Consumers tend to favor different platforms depending on the time of day. For example, YouTube tends to be most popular around lunchtime, LinkedIn in the mornings and early evenings and Instagram later on.

However, if you stream on your own website to host your event, then this factor isn’t as much of a consideration – and you can stick to using what you know about your target demographic to decide the optimum time.

Payday.

In general, when people get their paycheck, this is when they’re most likely to shop. After all, it’s the time of the week/month when they feel the wealthiest.

For most people, this happens on a Friday.

 What’s more, when the working week has finished and the weekend rolls around, people tend to be less high-strung and more receptive to treating themselves – a.k.a. making purchases from brands they love.

So, when is the best time to host your livestream shopping event?

The best time to host your livestream shopping event will depend largely on the geographical location of your target audience, what times your target customer are likely to be free and when they’ll be most receptive to making a purchase.

For many businesses, the optimum time to host a livestream shopping event is between 6-9pm on a Friday. However, this might be different for your brand.

So, as you host more liveshopping events, make sure to track the size of your viewership as you hosts at different times. This will help you find the optimum time for your business to host its livestream shopping events, generate the largest audience and drive the most sales.