We’re hearing more and more about NFTs and live shopping. And this is just the start. We’re definitely going to hear about these two technologies even more. Separately, but also combined. Here is why: NFT-gated live shopping sessions will become common for any brand that’s working on building a community.
In this article, we will explain what an NFT-gated live shopping session is, what are its benefits, and how you can easily set one up. The goal is to see how two of the most “hot” technologies can be combined in order to create the ultimate experience for your community.
What is an NFT and how does it work in live shopping?
Before seeing how NFTs and live shopping work together, let’s recap what they represent individually. I think this will help us know how you and your community will benefit from their association.
What is an NFT?
An NFT is an immutable digital record that can be (pre)programmed to follow specific rules. It includes a small program (smart contract) that connects it with different assets. And what makes it so popular is that, through its nature, an NFT holds proof of ownership and transactional history. Better said, an NFT cannot be copied or fraud.
The smart contract that governs the NFT gives it the capability to serve multiple purposes. So while an NFT holds within its authenticity proof, it can also be preprogrammed to act according to its initial rules. For example, if you use NFT ticketing, you can program your event tickets how many times they can be resold. And at the same time, you can set up upper and lower limits for the reselling prices. Alternatively, you can set up an NFT (even the same one from the above example) as membership proof for your community. And you can program it to act in specific ways – you can set up the rules for how this loyalty “card” will act in the future.
Live shopping – a (very) short definition
A live shopping session combines live video streaming, eCommerce, and entertainment. It’s a video show where online shoppers watch a host showcasing products and buy them without interrupting the video experience. Live shopping is converting, on average, 5 times better than traditional eCommerce. And it does it by allowing brands to add a human touch to this process. It’s basically allowing you to recreate the in-store shopping experience in an online environment while keeping the benefits from both types of commerce.
NFTs X live shopping. NFT-gated live shopping sessions
We’ve seen why people love both technologies. Now, let’s see why your community will absolutely love them together.
As mentioned, NFTs are digital assets that can be (pre)programmed. And their ability to act in specific ways makes them the perfect gateway to a loyalty program. They can include customer information and prepacked perks your loyal customers can use within your ecosystem. And setting up token-gated live shopping sessions is the perfect way to create a sense of exclusivity and community among shoppers.
How to create NFT-gated live shopping sessions
Setting up token-gated live shopping sessions may seem complicated, but it is a straightforward process once you understand how it works. The first step is to create your NFTs, which you can easily do using a tool like Oveit. For the scope of this article, we will focus on using this token to access the live shopping event. But as mentioned previously, the same NFT can hold a series of benefits, allowing your community to use it to access the loyalty program.
Next, you will need to integrate your NFTs with your live shopping platform by using a plugin or an API. Streams.live has a native integration with Oveit, but our API allows you to connect with other NFT platforms as well. This will allow you to use your NFTs as a gate to access the live shopping event, and also to track and verify the NFT ownership. The goal is to create private events with access granted only to token owners.
The goal here is to let your audience know that certain live shopping events are available just for NFT owners. To create a community around your brand and use this powerful technology to glue everything together.
NFT-gated live shopping sessions will give your loyal fans access to custom experiences. You can set up special live shopping events for new releases. You can set up “premiers” so that your loyalty membership owners have a chance to be the first ones that see (and buy!) new releases.
And there are multiple ways you can use this feature. You can have NFT-gated Q&A live shopping sessions. Here, you can better understand the pain points your customers are facing.
The benefits of NFT-gated live shopping sessions
Looking to create a sense of exclusivity and community among shoppers? Token-gated live shopping sessions are one of the ways to go. As they are not available for everyone, the NFT holders will feel part of something truly special. And the liveliness of the experience will encourage people to engage during the show.
You’re creating a safe space for your loyal customers. One where they can interact with you and amongst each other. Encourage them to share their excitement with fellow community members, ask questions, and share their feedback.
Through these custom experiences, you can allow your NFT holders access to special deals. But don’t overlook one essential factor. As not anybody can participate in these special sessions, customers know that this content is special. They also know that they have a chance to benefit from special deals. And this makes them more inclined to engage and buy. According to a study conducted by Lendingtree, here are the top 3 reasons why American consumers enroll in loyalty programs:
- Ability to earn points – 75%
- Interested in discount codes and coupons – 66%
- Access to special deals – 56%
Rewarding your loyal customers is important. And considering how much more financially efficient is to keep an existing client than it is to acquire a new one, it’s also the right thing to do. Additionally, the same study revealed that more than 40% of surveyed customers think it’s normal to join a loyalty program from a store where they frequently shop
Creating a loyalty program for your customers is essential. And NFT-gated live shopping sessions are one of the best ways to convince them to join your community.
Conclusion
This being said, I think it’s safe to say that NFT-gated live shopping sessions are a unique and innovative way to enhance the online shopping experience. By combining NFTs and live shopping, you can create a sense of exclusivity and community among shoppers. And furthermore still providing access to additional perks through your loyalty programs. It’s easy to create these sessions that offer a fun and engaging way to drive sales and customer loyalty. As the use of NFTs and live shopping continue to grow in popularity, you should include NFT-gated live shopping sessions in your sales & marketing strategy. You’ll stand out while providing a memorable shopping journey for your customers.
P.s. Streams.live can help you create private live shopping sessions outside the Web3 world as well, As we’re integrated with Oveit, you can easily set up live shopping sessions based on registration, free or paid ticketing, or even based on your existing loyalty programs. Contact us and we’ll help you deliver a live shopping experience tailored to your needs.
