Revenue generated by live shopping in China in 2025. In the USA that same year it was $120 billion. In Italy we're still near zero. But that's the advantage.
In 2016, a Chinese cosmetics seller went live on Taobao showing his products. In two hours he sold more than he would have sold in a month in his physical store. It was the beginning of a revolution.
Ten years later, live shopping in China is bigger than Italy's entire ecommerce market. Every day, millions of Chinese buy products by watching live streams from sellers, brands, celebrities, and creators.
In Italy, in 2026, almost no one does it. And that's exactly the point.
Why live shopping works
Live shopping combines two things people love: entertainment and shopping. But it does it in a way that's fundamentally different from any other channel.
The key is scarcity and genuine urgency. When you go live and announce you have only 20 units available at a special price for just the next 10 minutes, you're creating authentic urgency — not the fake countdown you see on so many ecommerce sites. People feel it, and they respond.
The second key is real-time interaction. You can ask the seller questions, see the product from every angle, ask how it washes, whether it fits your body type. And the seller answers you, live, immediately. It's like having a store assistant answering all your questions — but reachable from home, in your pajamas.
The first-mover advantage in Italy
Live shopping in Italy is exactly where social media marketing was in 2012 — in its infancy, with very little competition, an untouched audience, extremely low cost of attention.
Whoever built a serious presence on Instagram in 2012-2013 has competitive advantages that are still almost impossible to overcome today. Whoever builds a serious live shopping presence today, in Italy, will have the same kind of advantage in three years.
How to get started concretely
Choose the right platform for your audience. TikTok Live with TikTok Shop is the most powerful combination to reach under 35s, fashion, beauty, food, and lifestyle products. Instagram Live works well for brands with an existing community. YouTube Live for products that require longer, more in-depth explanations.
Structure your format. An effective live shopping has a precise structure: high-energy opening that builds anticipation (5 minutes), product presentation with real demonstration and storytelling (20-30 minutes), real-time Q&A session where you answer everything (10 minutes), closing with an exclusive offer only for live viewers (5 minutes). Structure brings predictability and lets you build anticipation with your audience.
Promote beforehand — well beforehand. Announce the live 72-48 hours in advance across all channels. Build anticipation by revealing some products you'll showcase. Create expectation for the exclusive offer without spoiling the details. Lives with the highest viewership are those that are promoted best, not those hosted by the most famous content creators.
The secret is authenticity. Italian audiences, who aren't yet used to live shopping, reward genuineness above production value. You don't need a equipped studio, professional lighting, a written script. You need to be authentic, know your products, and be eager to talk about them with people. Start with a 30-minute test live — it doesn't have to be perfect. It has to be real.