Skip to main content
McMaster University
DeGroote School of Business
McMaster University
Search

DSB Main Website Search

McMaster Menu
DeGroote Menu
  • Home
  • Programs
  • About
    • About DeGroote
    • Our Leadership
    • Dean’s Corner
    • Our Faculty & Research  
    • McLean Centre for Collaborative Discovery
    • Strategic Plan 
    • Annual Report 
  • Events
  • Students
    • Student Resources
    • Student Clubs
    • Submit a Student Bulletin
    • Submit your Event
  • Alumni
    • Alumni Resources
    • Wayne C. Fox Distinguished Alumni Award 
    • DeGroote Alumni Social Impact Award
  • Staff
  • Give
  • Contact
    • Contact Us
    • DeGroote Directory
Search McMaster Menu
  • Home
  • Programs
  • About
    About DeGrooteOur LeadershipDean’s CornerOur Faculty & Research  McLean Centre for Collaborative DiscoveryStrategic Plan Annual Report 
  • Events
  • Students
    Student ResourcesStudent ClubsSubmit a Student BulletinSubmit your Event
  • Alumni
    Alumni ResourcesWayne C. Fox Distinguished Alumni Award DeGroote Alumni Social Impact Award
  • Staff
  • Give
  • Contact
    Contact UsDeGroote Directory

MARKETING   RESEARCH   STAFF   STRATEGIC PLAN | RESEARCH AND SCHOLARSHIP  

In the News: Is Live Shopping the Next Big disruptor in Canadian Retail?

March 23, 2023 ·

Contributed by: John Lorinc, The Globe and Mail

Share

Twitter Facebook LinkedIn Mail Copy Link

The young influencer’s pose is both iconic and ubiquitous: Modelling a fashionable sundress, she turns one way and then the other, with only the presence of the smartphone held steadily at collar-bone level to indicate the snippet is a selfie shot in front of a mirror.

What differentiates this clip from countless others on Instagram, TikTok or other social media platforms, however, is the presence of a “Buy Now” button on the screen that enables the viewer to instantly purchase the dress. The clip is part of a series, each with the same young woman modelling different items, which originated in a livestream broadcast—the weird re-emergence of appointment TV’s immensely popular shopping channel offerings, but projected out into the boundlessness of e-commerce.

On burgeoning platforms like WhatNot, a so-called “live shopping” marketplace, consumers can tune in to hundreds of such promotions, each featuring influencers pitching a wide range of products—everything from cosmetics to action figures—in real time. Geoffroy Robin, chief operating officer of Montreal-based Livescale Technologies, a six-year-old company that offers live shopping services to global brands like L’Oreal, says a rapidly growing number of vendors are embedding “live” into their own websites, many featuring pros with experience selling on live TV who can host “events.” In Asia, he adds, some will do 12 to 14 events per day.

This hybrid channel, he explains, surfaced before 2020 but was turbocharged by the enforced isolation of the pandemic and seems to have become a staple of consumerism in Asia. “This is a solution that is merging and unifying retail and e-commerce,” Robin says. “What we’ve seen before the pandemic is that among our clients, these teams were working in separate silos. Live shopping is really putting the glue in between these two teams.”

The global retail sector has operated in a state of permanent discombobulation ever since a meteor named Jeff Bezos fell to Earth and killed off those dinosaurs we once knew as department stores. This particular fad, which may be the next megatrend, seems to be the latest chapter in the long-running narrative about how we shop.

Canadian brands and retailers should take note.

“Livestreaming shopping is an emerging business,” says Ruhai Wu, an associate professor of marketing at McMaster University’s DeGroote School of Business. “The growth speed is fascinating.” Indeed, live shopping sales in China exceeded $US500 billion in 2022 (up from US$18 billion annually in 2018 or 2019) and accounts for as much as one-fifth of Chinese e-commerce, according to some estimates. Live shopping revenue in the U.S. currently stands at about US$50 billion and is predicted to grow, albeit more slowly, says Wu.

Read the full article in The Globe and Mail.

Tags:   IN THE NEWS LIVE SHOPPING MARKETING PHD RESEARCH RESEARCH AND SCHOLARSHIP RUHAI WU

Related Stories

Celebrating DeGroote grant success in 2025
September 26, 2025 · RESEARCH · FINANCE AND BUSINESS ECONOMICS · HUMAN RESOURCES AND MANAGEMENT · INFORMATION SYSTEMS · MARKETING · OPERATIONS MANAGEMENT · ACCOUNTING · STRATEGIC PLAN | RESEARCH AND SCHOLARSHIP

Celebrating DeGroote grant success in 2025

From research to impact: DeGroote undergraduate student research day  
August 20, 2025 · RESEARCH · STRATEGIC PLAN | RESEARCH AND SCHOLARSHIP · STUDENT

From research to impact: DeGroote undergraduate student research day  

Breaking financial barriers: New learning hub explores solutions to address financial exclusion
July 25, 2025 · MCCD · SOCIETAL IMPACT · STRATEGIC PLAN | ENGAGING COMMUNITIES

Breaking financial barriers: New learning hub explores solutions to address financial exclusion

Pursuing doctorates together: A story of academic partnership 
June 18, 2025 · INFORMATION SYSTEMS

Pursuing doctorates together: A story of academic partnership 

The Case for Creative Risk-Taking, Even When the Stakes Are High
May 28, 2025 · STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT

The Case for Creative Risk-Taking, Even When the Stakes Are High

In the news: $4.1 million fines for violations of Canada’s temporary foreign worker program are a ‘drop in the bucket’
January 22, 2025 · HUMAN RESOURCES AND MANAGEMENT · RESEARCH

In the news: $4.1 million fines for violations of Canada’s temporary foreign worker program are a ‘drop in the bucket’

The future of healthcare: Mike Heenan on trends and disruptions
January 22, 2025 · STRATEGIC PLAN | ENGAGING COMMUNITIES · ALUMNI · HEALTH POLICY AND MANAGEMENT

The future of healthcare: Mike Heenan on trends and disruptions

People-focused leadership: Insights from Mike Heenan
January 9, 2025 · STRATEGIC PLAN | ENGAGING COMMUNITIES · ALUMNI

People-focused leadership: Insights from Mike Heenan

In the news: The strike is over – now what?
January 9, 2025 · HUMAN RESOURCES AND MANAGEMENT

In the news: The strike is over – now what?

How the rapid growth of live shopping could signal a shift in the holiday retail landscape
December 17, 2024 · MARKETING · RESEARCH · STRATEGIC PLAN | RESEARCH AND SCHOLARSHIP

How the rapid growth of live shopping could signal a shift in the holiday retail landscape

Student perspective: Driving sustainability in freight transportation
December 11, 2024 · OPERATIONS MANAGEMENT · STUDENT

Student perspective: Driving sustainability in freight transportation

Grad students pitch impactful ideas to drive real change
December 4, 2024 · STUDENT · RESEARCH · OPERATIONS MANAGEMENT · SOCIETAL IMPACT

Grad students pitch impactful ideas to drive real change

The heart of supervision: How Manish Verma shapes future leaders
December 3, 2024 · OPERATIONS MANAGEMENT · RESEARCH · STRATEGIC PLAN | RESEARCH AND SCHOLARSHIP

The heart of supervision: How Manish Verma shapes future leaders

President’s Awards celebrate excellence in graduate supervision
November 20, 2024 · OPERATIONS MANAGEMENT · RESEARCH

President’s Awards celebrate excellence in graduate supervision

DeGroote celebrates 45 years of the PhD program
October 29, 2024 · ALUMNI · RESEARCH · STRATEGIC PLAN | RESEARCH AND SCHOLARSHIP

DeGroote celebrates 45 years of the PhD program

DeGroote School of Business DeGroote School of Business Logo
DeGroote Instagram logo DeGroote Linkedin logo DeGroote Facebook logo DeGroote YouTube Logo DeGroote TikTok Logo
DeGroote Menu

  • Programs
  • About DeGroote
  • Events
  • Student Resources
  • Staff Resources
  • Alumni Resources
  • Give
  • DeGroote Directory
  • Contact Us
  • Faculty & Research  
Hamilton Campus

DeGroote School of Business
McMaster University

1280 Main Street West

Hamilton, Ontario
L8S 4M4
Burlington Campus

DeGroote School of Business
Ron Joyce Centre

4350 South Service Road

Burlington, Ontario
L7L 5R8
AACSB Logo

McMaster University is committed to providing websites that are accessible to the widest possible audience.  

If you require any content on this website in an alternate format, please contact dsbweb@mcmaster.ca and we will respond promptly.

DeGroote Online Privacy Policy

McMaster Brighter World Logo McMaster University - Brighter World Logo
Contact McMaster McMaster Terms & Conditions McMaster Privacy Policy
Secret Link