Zara will expand its live shopping shows to the UK, Europe and the US this year, testing a format already popular in China but with which Western shoppers are less familiar.
The fast fashion brand, whose parent company Inditex reports quarterly results on Wednesday, is investing in new ways to attract consumers as analysts expect sales to grow more slowly after an extraordinary post-pandemic surge.
The five-hour live shopping shows in China, broadcast weekly on Douyin, TikTok’s Chinese sister site, have helped boost Zara’s sales since their launch in November, according to the retail analytics firm EDITED.
“We want to expand this initiative to Western countries, where livestreaming is not as popular… but we think that, from an entertainment point of view, it is an evolution,” a Zara spokesperson told about the initiative, which is expected to be launched between August and October.
Shopping as entertainment is not new – home shopping channels where viewers phoned in to buy featured products have been popular for decades – but social media and e-commerce have sparked a new era of livestreaming, led by China where influencers sell everything from cosmetics to snacks at a breakneck pace.
Brands looking to create a rarer experience have sought to do live shopping differently.
Zara’s show on Douyin features Chinese models wearing Zara dresses, trying on shoes and jewelry. It also includes runway footage and behind-the-scenes makeup photos, and its casual, conversational style contrasts with the hard-selling livestreams that hosts like “lipstick king” Li Jiaqi are famous for.
A team of 70 people works on the live show, which is broadcast from a 1,000 square meter space in Shanghai, changing angles between seven cameras, Zara said. On average, it attracts around 800,000 viewers per broadcast.
“Zara’s approach to live streaming has significantly increased brand awareness in China,” said Krista Corrigan, an analyst at EDITED.
According to EDITED data, Zara sold out most sizes by 50% more products in China in the first three months of this year compared to the same period in 2023.
The livestream also allows Zara to reach shoppers even though its physical presence in China has shrunk from 570 stores in 2019 to just 192 as of January 31 this year.
FRIENDLY, CASUAL AND FUN
In the UK, US and other yet-to-be-announced European countries, Zara has chosen to host live shows on its app and website rather than on a streaming platform. third-party social media to control aesthetics.
Alfonso Segura, who runs Barcelona-based fashion retail consultancy TFR, said it would also boost engagement and leverage its database of registered users.
The ad hoc livestreams will highlight specific Zara Woman collections and will be hosted by two “very well-known” fashion personalities, the brand said, without naming them.
Aiming for a “friendly, casual and fun” experience, shows will be shorter than those on Douyin, lasting 45 minutes to an hour, but viewers will still be able to respond in real time with questions, comments and emojis .
“We can’t always know whether what worked in China will work in Western Europe or the UK,” said Georgina Johanan, an analyst at JP Morgan.
But, she added, Inditex’s investment in live shopping is an example of its momentum and ability to be at the forefront of experimenting with new formats.
“This is a company that most people said a decade ago was a laggard in e-commerce, and now it’s one of the first to test this type of trade in the UK,” Ms Johanan said.
Asos, L’Oréal and Puma are among the brands that have launched on TikTok Shop in the UK in recent months, the platform said, while the AliBaba AliExpress platform launched a livestream show in the UK in March, titled “It Girls,” which features influencers including Olivia Attwood.
Asos said its first order was placed within 30 minutes of launch and that new shoppers made up 57% of those purchasing its products through TikTok Shop.
Madrid-based Carmen Muley started by hosting AliExpress’ first livestream in China in 2016 and now advises brands on livestream shopping strategy through her company Paragon Social Commerce.
“Here in Europe we don’t really like it when someone aggressively sells us something – of course the end goal of a live shopping event is to sell a product, but consumers don’t want to not feel like you have to buy,” she said.
“Offering something the consumer wouldn’t normally find in store is a good idea – you need to make the event special, otherwise why would they sign up?
Inditex declined to specify the amount of its investment in the new format, but the family business has a cash position of 11 billion euros, giving it the firepower and safety net to experiment with new sales methods, although success is not guaranteed.
