When the initial Covid-19 lockdown hit and in-person events shut down, consumers instead opted to watch livestreamed events, specifically on social media platforms. In 2020 alone, research reports that Instagram Live usage grew 70 percent.
With livestreaming bringing in a new era of entertainment, it’s no surprise that different consumer habits like online shopping are trickling into the livestreaming world. Local startup buywith allows consumers to bridge the gap between e-commerce and livestream entertainment.
On Tuesday, buywith raked in $9.5 million in seed funding from igniteXL Ventures. The startup plans to use its funding to hire with a specific focus on growing its sales and marketing teams alongside its research and development team.
Buywith partners with big brands like Estée Lauder, Steve Madden, Charlotte Tilbury and Walmart to host on-site livestream shopping events featuring influencers, experts and brand representatives who sell products to an infinite number of live viewing consumers.
“Given the explosion of livestream shopping in Asia, we are about to witness the rapid growth of this channel in the West,” Claire Chang, a general partner at igniteXLVentures, said in a statement. “Unlike other livestream shopping solutions, buywith hosts live shopping sessions directly on the brand’s website, meeting the customers where they are and increasing the conversion rate to unprecedented levels in e-commerce.”
