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what's working in live commerce

what's working in live commerce

India hasn’t got to where China was in 2019...

March 30, 2026

D2C x Live Commerce

Hey readers,

Welcome to the nineteenth edition of D2C Cents!

TLDR - We are your scroll-friendly, no-fluff download of what's shaping India's D2C brands.

This edition? It’s about Live Commerce eating E-Commerce.

Inside:

The rise of live commerce (China → India)
What’s working right now (formats, creators, infrastructure)
How to build your live commerce stack in 2026

Do you know Zheng Xiang Xiang?

She doesn't do fancy photoshoots or product descriptions. None of that.

She shows each product for exactly 3 seconds. States the price and moves on.

With 5+ million followers on Douyin (China's TikTok), she perfected the art of ruthless efficiency.

The products were priced under 10 yuan, less than ₹120. The low price means she sold approximately 10 million units in that single week.

They banned this style outright.

Why? Because it was too effective. Viewers would buy before their brain caught up with their finger.

The platform prohibited "rapid introductions", where products are shown one after another with minimal or no information. Violators face fines and account closure. This is Asian Sky Shop on Steroids (90s kids will get it)

China's livestreaming e-commerce market hit nearly 5 trillion yuan in 2023, up from just 420 billion yuan in 2019, and is forecast to surge to 8.16 trillion yuan by 2026. That's a 19x expansion in seven years.

India hasn’t got to where China was in 2019.

The Viral Moments We Can Learn From

It went viral because it was entertaining AF. And then it sold millions of clothes.

When he says, "This shade sold out in 5 minutes last time," people believe him. Because they watched it happen.

The "See Now, Buy Now" Infrastructure:

Douyin integrates Alipay and WeChat Pay inside the livestream. One tap to buy.

You see it.
You want it.
You tap.
It's yours.

The outfits appeared below the video player as contestants wore them.

One tap = purchase complete.

In a conversation with Adgully, Sumit Jasoria, CEO of NEWME, spoke about how this integration is redefining content-to-commerce for Gen Z. He also reveals that NEWME is opening multiple stores simultaneously, hosting DJ parties, and rolling out tech-first activations to make the brand experience more immersive than ever.

Welcome to the future.

They started doing Facebook Live shows of their jewellery.

They built a customer base of more than 35,000 buyers and 3.5 lakh social media followers through Facebook Live jewellery shows.

The brand was recognised as a Modern Jewellery Impact Leader at the ABP Live Impact Makers Conclave 2025.

From a small-town shop to a case study in live commerce, powered by Facebook Live and authenticity.

If a jeweller in Dhaniakhali can do this, why aren’t more doing it?

Think of India's content commerce evolution as a maturity curve. Most brands are stuck in Stage 1. The smart money is moving to Stage 3.

Stage 1: Static Product Photos

This is where most Indian D2C brands still live. In 2026, competing here means competing with Flipkart's 2018 UX

Stage 2: Shoppable Videos

200 million users engaged with videos on Flipkart while shopping in the first half of 2025, up from 75 million just a year prior. 2 out of 3 Gen Z shoppers now favour this format.

Meesho has nearly one million creator videos that generated sales for its sellers.

Myntra's social commerce now contributes 10% of the platform's total revenue, with a 50% increase in contribution in the past four months.

This is table stakes for any brand serious about Gen Z acquisition in 2026.

Stage 3: The Live Commerce Tests (Emerging)

Myntra's M-Live activates during EORS and the festive season, fashion influencers, real-time limited-time offers, and genuine urgency.

JioCinema tested shoppable livestreams during IPL, buying team merchandise while watching Virat Kohli hit a six.

About 72% of Indian Gen Z shoppers find their buying ideas through creator-led channels. They are not coming to your product page. They're watching someone use your product live, and buying it before the stream ends.

69% of Gen Z shoppers have discovered a product through a social media video that appeared organically in their feed.

But they engage more with user-generated content (UGC) and micro-influencers over traditional celebrity endorsements.

What does this mean for live commerce?

Gen Z is already live-streaming everything: concerts, unboxings, "get ready with me" routines, thrift hauls. They're creating hours of shoppable content every day without even trying.

The campaign triggered a wave of user-generated content, with users flooding social media with reaction videos and driving millions of organic views.

The smart play for brands in 2026:

Don't just do your own live streams. Tap into the Gen Z UGC machine.

Partner with Gen Z creators at concerts and festivals to go live with your products

Let THEM host your live shopping sessions (they're better at it than your marketing team anyway)

A large UK festival shifted more budget to TikTok than Facebook/Instagram, yielding 49.5% more ticket sales from TikTok ads than Meta ads. The cost per acquisition on TikTok was nearly 50% lower.

There is no single right answer here. The right platform, format, and cadence depend on your category, customer base, and budget.

Where to Start (Platform Strategy)

If you're just starting:

Instagram Live Shopping (built-in checkout in India now)
Facebook Live (especially for Tier 2/3, jewellery, sarees, Ashique Jewellers proved this)
WhatsApp broadcasts for personalized live selling

If you're scaling:

YouTube Shopping lets creators tag products in videos, Shorts, and livestreams with direct commission structures.

Flipkart's Creator Cities, 18,000 sq ft production infrastructure across Mumbai, Bengaluru, and Gurugram, exist specifically to help brands build live commerce content at scale.

Your own website livestream gives you the data, the customer relationship, and zero platform cost.

What to Actually Do (Format Strategy)

The format should match the product's purchase psychology:

The Execution Checklist

Before going live:

Test mobile view first (98% of your viewers are on phones)
Ensure one-click checkout is ready (each additional step drops conversion by ~30%)
Plan three to five "buying moments" with flash deals built into the stream structure.

During the stream:

The first 30 seconds must hook, not introduce.
Call viewers by name.
Read comments aloud.
Demo over description.
Create urgency every few minutes, not once at the end.

After the stream:

Keep the replay shoppable on Instagram and YouTube.
Clip the highest-engagement moments into Reels and Shorts.
DM non-buyers with a time-bound exclusive.

BTW - still in the middle of your 2025-26 AOP? In case you missed it, we shared a simple AOP (Annual Operating Plan) template last week.

Global social commerce sales are forecast to reach more than $900 billion in 2026, and in the United States alone, social commerce is expected to cross $100 billion in sales.

86% of consumers make an influencer-inspired purchase at least once a year, and nearly half do so monthly or more.

This is the new default.