When developing your product, there are a number of considerations based on the consumers as your potential buyers to focus on as a means to maximise your profits, whether you want it oriented towards the product itself or the social aspects surrounding it. When talking about live shopping, drawing the line between two major consumer market archetypes in product-oriented and social-oriented consumers is basically essential for understanding their behaviour, specifically what drives purchase decisions towards certain products.
While the distinction between the two consumer market archetypes are direct and apparent from the get go, the strategies used for either archetypes are different and they require detailed research to reach the optimal outcome. Here is how you can learn about product-oriented customers and social-oriented customers.
What Is Product-Oriented Consumer?
Product-oriented consumer market mainly concern the factors towards the product itself; how the product looks like, how good or bad is the quality of the product, and how the product benefits the consumers directly. Brands that usually approached this specific archetype also emphasise the differentiation and place uniqueness within the market through these factors. High-quality products are essentially the key, since these brands believe quality products create demand by themselves and will satisfy consumers. Therefore, the products will sell well.
Thus when it comes to live-shopping, the successes from product-oriented consumer archetypes largely depend on the businesses’ capabilities to present their products in a way that showcases several key factors such as their superiority and usefulness, usually by implementing demonstrations or highlighting unique features of the products. This approach is more traditional and aligns with direct marketing strategies, where the product is the king, And the aim is to inform and persuade based on its attributes. Based on the report provided by TikTok titled “Shoppertainment 2024: The Future of Consumer & Commerce Here in APAC”, markets in Japan and Indonesia are predominantly product-oriented, which other than focusing towards the products and their quirks, they are also discount-driven, meaning that they tend to be more influenced in purchasing decisions when there are discount or deal offers for the products.
Businesses that approached this consumer archetype can obtain several advantages:
- Focused Decision-Making
Product-oriented consumers are interested mainly towards the specifics of the product itself, from the quality of the product, features that can benefit the consumers, and how much value for money is given by the product. This can lead to quicker decision-making once their criteria are met, potentially speeding up the sales cycle - High Conversion Potential
Since these consumers are already interested in certain product categories, they might give a high potential for conversion if the product within the category is able to meet their expectations. - Easier to Target with Specific Product Features
Marketing efforts can be highly targeted, focusing on product specifications, comparisons, and value propositions that appeal directly to their rational decision-making process.
At the same time, however, this consumer archetype also carry several risks:
- Higher Sensitivity to Perceived Risks
Product-oriented consumers tend to be more sensitive to perceived risks such as product quality and economic risks. If there’s a mismatch between product expectations for the consumers and reality given by the product, it can lead to dissatisfaction and negative word-of-mouth by the consumers. - Comparison Shopping
Product-based consumers also tend to compare products across different platforms in order to fully satisfy them in terms of pricing and quality provided, making price transparency and product differentiation a significant factor for securing the consumer’s purchase. - Demand for Detailed Information
Product-based consumers also have a keen eye for detailed information about the product itself. In order to satisfy customers and increase their potential purchase, information wise, businesses must invest in factors that correlate to good and detailed information about the product, from provision of informative descriptions, high-quality images, and possibly even augmented reality (AR) experiences.
What Is Social-Oriented Consumer?
Social-oriented markets, on the other hand, emphasise social interactions, engagement, and community building as their key usages. In these specific markets, live shopping sessions are not just about presenting a product but creating an immersive and interactive experience for viewers that lead to potential purchases made by the viewers.
This approach capitalises on social media dynamics, such as inclusion of social media influencers within the session, real-time interactions between sellers and customers, and user-generated content to cater the customers. These factors eventually foster a sense of community and trust among potential buyers, eventually leading to sales.
The effectiveness of live shopping in social-oriented markets mainly factors towards the creation of relatable content and the engagement between brands and potential customers in a dialogue, making the shopping experience more personal and socially driven. Based on the TikTok report, social-oriented consumers predominated the markets in South Korea, Vietnam, and Thailand. And unlike product-oriented, social-oriented consumers are less driven when it comes to discount or deal offers.
Market Effects within the Context of Live Shopping
Product-Oriented Consumer Effects
Product-oriented strategies in live shopping tend to focus towards the detailed presentation of the products themselves, that include features, quality, and usability. This approach can directly influence consumer purchasing behaviour by providing comprehensive information that helps when it comes to decision-making.
Consumer Behaviour
A detailed product demonstration and in-depth information from the product can increase product interaction and purchase likelihood. For instance, an examination of shopper behaviour using video tracking data showed that salesperson contact and detailed product interactions tend to encourage longer store visits and increase product interaction and purchases
Sales Conversion
A study on the influence of social dynamics in online product ratings forums suggested that detailed product information and ratings can significantly affect product sales, both directly and indirectly, by influencing future rating behaviour and, subsequently, future sales.
Social-Oriented Consumer Effects
Conversely, social-oriented strategies leverage the interactive and engaging aspects of social platforms, focusing on building community and engaging with consumers in a more personal and interactive manner.
Purchase Intentions
Live streaming in social commerce, particularly in markets like China, for example, has shown that visibility, metavoicing, and guidance shopping affordance can significantly influence customer purchase intention through engagement. These tools basically come as a personal assistant for potential buyers to find the products they want to look for, making the shopping experience for these consumers as personalised as possible.
Consumer Trust and Social Shopping Intentions
The presence of social commerce constructs such as social presence, informational support, and emotional support within the community can significantly influence social interactions and shopping intentions, highlighting the significance of social elements and community building in influencing shopping behaviour.
Finding the Perfect Strategy
Creating effective strategies for both product-oriented and social-oriented consumers in the context of live shopping or e-commerce requires a nuanced approach that recognises the distinct motivations, behaviours, and preferences of each consumer segmentation.
For Product-Oriented Consumers:
- Focus on Detailed Product Information: Product-oriented consumers have a tendency to seek comprehensive details about the products they consider purchasing. Incorporating detailed product descriptions, high-quality product images, and specifications from the product is important to gain the optimal outcome. Live demos or Q&A sessions within the live shopping sessions can further address specific queries in real-time, enhancing the product-focused experience for the consumers.
- Highlight Value and Quality: Giving emphasis towards value for money, quality, and the unique selling points of the products during live sessions is also important. Product comparisons and highlighting exclusive features can cater to these consumers’ demands for their informed approach towards purchasing decisions.
- Leverage Customer Reviews and Ratings: Incorporating customer feedback, reviews, and ratings towards the products indirectly, within the e-commerce platform or even directly, during live shopping events can significantly influence product-oriented buyers, as they often rely on peer evaluations to assess product quality and reliability.
- Customization and Personalization: Offering customization options or personalised product recommendations using advanced analytics or AI tools for assistance purposes can cater to product-oriented consumers looking for products that match their specific needs and preferences.
Success Story: True To Skin
Indonesian-based beauty brand, True To Skin, is one of the brands who successfully capitalise on the product-oriented consumers. The brand, which was established in 2020 by owner Riska Elastria, mainly focuses towards the quality of the products ranging from sunscreens, serums, to moisturisers, inspired by the owner’s struggles with sensitive skin, thus having problems with having products that suit her needs.
With its concept of “Clean and Minimalist”, True To Skin wanted to resonate with the consumers who share similarities in the struggle of finding the suitable beauty product, eventually focusing on making beauty products that primarily use the highest quality, local and natural ingredients to treat sensitive skin that a fraction of the Indonesian population do have.
Through the proper usage of e-commerce platforms such as Shopee Live and TikTok Live accompanied by other factors such as eco-friendliness and affordability that Indonesian consumers mainly consider, True To Skin eventually became one of the leading beauty brands in the country with their consistent product-oriented consumer preference from the beginning.
For Social-Oriented Consumers:
- Engage Through Storytelling: Utilise storytelling to connect with social-oriented consumers. Sharing the backstory of the brand or each of the products specifically, the brand’s mission or future commitments, or stories from satisfied customers can create an emotional connection and enhance the shopping experience.
- Foster Community and Interaction: Encourage interaction towards potential customers during live shopping events by facilitating discussions, hosting polls, and responding to comments in real-time. Creating a sense of community among viewers can be particularly appealing to social-oriented consumers.
- Leverage Influencers and Key Opinion Leaders (KOLs): Collaborate with influencers and KOLs who resonate with your target audience. Their endorsements or live presence within the session itself can drive engagement and trust among social-oriented consumers, especially if the KOL has a large community following.
- Exclusive Offers and Community Rewards: Offer exclusive deals, early access to products, or rewards for community engagement during the live shopping session to incentivize participation and foster a sense of belonging for the potential customers, increasing probability of sales made by the customers.
- Utilise Social Media Platforms Effectively: Beyond live commerce platforms, actively engage with consumers on social media platforms, either responding to posts or direct messages. Share behind-the-scenes content, customer stories, and interactive posts as additional tools as a way to keep the community engaged and informed regarding the product or the brand.
Success Story: YOU Beauty
Indonesian-based beauty brand, YOU Beauty, is an example of a brand successfully targeting social-oriented consumers through their special live shopping event through the platform Shopee Live on September 8 of last year. Collaborating with a popular influencer in Aurel Hermansyah, who has a large following across different social media platforms in Indonesia, YOU Beauty managed to garner hundreds of millions Rupiahs from a total of 15 thousand orders during a two-hour session.
From offering deals such as discounts to free delivery costs to a detailed and charismatic explanation of an array of products from YOU Beauty’s catalogues by Aurel Hermansyah, they found a successful strategy in capitalising on the large following from the influencer herself and understanding the community building in order to appeal potential customers.
Further proof can be found during the session where there are numerous live reviews from the consumers who have purchased the products by YOU Beauty, and large interaction towards potential customers from Q&A sessions to product reviews requested by the customers, specifically newer products released by YOU Beauty, increasing trust among potential customers and creating an immersive and interactive shopping experience.
