Facebook is rolling out a weekly live shopping event with major beauty and apparel brands.- Shoppers will be able to live shop for new items from brands such as
Sephora and Abercrombie, Facebook said. - The
livestream shopping market is expected to grow to $25 billion in the US by 2023.
Facebook is launching "Live Shopping Fridays" every Friday through July 16, hosting beauty and apparel brands such as Sephora and
People will be able to ask questions to brand representatives and buy products during these live videos, Facebook said.
"Live Shopping on Facebook combines the fun of live video with the convenience of online shopping," Facebook said in a blog post announcing the news Tuesday. "For shoppers, this means you can discover the latest products from your favorite brands and ask questions about size, fit, and tips in real-time.
"And for brands, Live Shopping offers a chance to build relationships with customers, provide new entertaining content, answer questions and streamline the purchase process through convenient checkout with Shops," it said.
Experts say Livestream shopping is on the cusp of becoming one of the most powerful trends in US
Facebook expanded its "Shops" e-commerce tool in August 2020 to add livestream shopping services. It also waived fees for small businesses using this service until the end of June.
A spokesperson for Facebook did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment on what fees brands such as Abercrombie and Sephora would pay to use the service.
Ken Fenyo, president of research and advisory at Coresight, told Insider in an interview on Tuesday that brands are seeing "great success" in terms of engagement and driving sales through livestream shopping channels. The market is still fragmented, however, and retailers are still figuring out how to make it work.
Nordstrom and Walmart are among the major brands testing livestream shopping.