A new online platform enabling consumers to race against other shoppers to snap up the best deals is gaining traction in Australia after unprecedented global success.
CatchLIVE which is part of the ‘Catch of the Day’ online retail platform is transforming the face of online shopping in Australia by offering consumers an interactive, live-stream shopping experience through gamification.
The platform is the only Aussie-owned live-stream shopping service allowing users to snag the best deals by competing with other users in games of trivia.
Ayelet Weissman, general manager of CatchLIVE, told Retailbiz that the platform is the first of its kind to bring this global phenomenon into the Aussie market.
“In Australia Catch is pioneering this feature, however it’s a massive part of Chinese ecommerce, where Deloitte estimates it will drive over $4 billion in revenue this year, and reach over 450 million viewers,” she says.
“It’s only just now starting to make inroads in the US, Europe, and Australia. Livestream shopping sits at the crossroads of all the trends in digital – video, mobile, ecommerce, community, content marketing, experiential marketing, gamification – so we have every reason to believe it IS the future.”
The company’s mother-brand, Catch.com.au, which is known for delivering the best buys for big brands and a diverse product range, just months ago launched its first platform – CatchLIVE allowing shoppers to play games to win products and big discounts on major buys.
Viewers can test their wits in trivia and race against other shoppers to snap up the best deals – from Apple products to overseas holidays, Dyson Airwrap, and many others.
The platform works through a dynamic webpage which hosts a daily live-stream, including an interactive trivia and constantly updating sales events.
The platform has gained traction worldwide, with some recent programs seeing 10,000 players active at any one time.
Miss Weissman says that the players range from solo players to groups, including office staff, playing under the guise of a single identity – with the platform being hugely successful, with some products selling out almost immediately.
“We’ve seen product sell out in incredibly short time periods, our hosts have been able to really educate the viewers about the products in more detail, there’s now the offer a creative outlet to support the sales of products and we’ve also been able to create more demand with our audience following these sale periods,” she says.
And the growth doesn’t stop here for the platform, which is eyeing plans to scale-up even further.
“We plan to expand and grow whilst introducing a higher variety of exclusive deals to our rapidly growing and highly engaged viewers. This will also be carried out through our passion for content creation and the implementation of new and exciting games that will keep our audience coming back for more,” Miss Weissman says.