With at least 9 cameras, Steadicams, dollies and cranes, one might mistake Zara’s latest livestream as a film set or fashion shoot. However, it was a 4-hour shopping livestream unlike any other. Industry sources estimate that the stream cost about 1 million RMB (140,584 USD) and it reportedly took 8 rehearsals to get the blocking and filming right.
Hosted by supermodel You Tianyi, the Douyin livestream included live views of the studio, the camera crew, as well as the makeup team. You Tianyi introduced her outfit and the team, then did a catwalk, all to perfectly choreographed camera movements. Dolly shots, crane shots and Steadicam shots cut to each other seamlessly, from onstage to behind-the-scenes. Introductions on styling tips and Zara’s beauty products were also integrated into the livestream naturally.
The four-hour show attracted an impressive 1.22 million views, peaking with 13,000 viewers tuning in at the same time. Zara’s previous livestreams had on average less than 200,000 views. However, with a GMV between 250,000 RMB (35,133 USD) and 500,000 RMB (70,265 USD), the latest livestream has a lower conversion rate than last time.
Zara entered Douyin in 2019, but it was not until 2023 that the brand filmed its first livestream. Zara has gone live on Douyin about 40 times each month since April. With 1.3 million followers, the Zara channel on Douyin has aired 177 livestreams as of now. It has continued to use an unconventional streaming format, doing away with low price promotions or offscreen voices in favour of the “quiet selling” approach pioneered by several Xiaohongshu streamers. But revenue-wise, Zara’s livestreaming has seen shrinkage in the second half of 2023 compared to the first half.
Some pundits point out that the latest livestream is more of a brand-building campaign than a shopping livestream. With brand-hosted livestreams becoming a new trend this year, Zara’s experiment with livestreaming format shows alternative tactics for brands in approaching livestreams.
