CEO and cofounder, Card Shop Live.

Livestream shopping is boosting small-business owners’ ability to connect with customers while creating brand loyalty. This trend sweeping the nation has brands eagerly trying to reach their target audience, with some brands boasting $100,000 in sales a day. Yet, even though reports are estimating this movement to be a $512 billion market, I’ve noticed just a fraction of small businesses are utilizing livestream shopping in their sales strategies.

So how can small businesses harness the power of livestream shopping to grow their brand? First, let’s clear up the misconception that livestream shopping is just going live on social media and talking about products. Successful live shopping events are essentially creating a virtual storefront that has the charm of entering your favorite small business on Main Street but in the palm of your hand.

Think about it this way: For centuries, Main Street and local shops were the hubs of interactions and communication. Then online shopping arrived, wiping out the human aspect of shopping and making it purely transactional. This greatly affected many aspects of building brand loyalty. Just look at the numbers. According to the National Customer Rage Survey (yes, there is