Live Streaming Tech Set to Be 2023’s Next Major Disruptor in Business

Live video picked up in a huge way across 2020, and since then, savvy tech engineers have been working on new ways to apply live streaming technology to help B2B and B2C businesses further. What was learned over the last few years was that not only are people quick to adopt the tech, but that while in a live stream, they are far more engaged and willing to partake in whatever action is being shown.

Reasons like this have led to some pretty impressive stats and forecasts for the global live-streaming market. As we reported at D!$rupt, 79 percent of customers have used live video within one week of a given survey, 75 percent of CEOs are looking to lean into live video conferences over audio-only conferences, and revenue from live videos is projected to eclipse $180 billion over the next five years.

It doesn’t take much to see that investors and businesses alike are looking to new live-streaming solutions to improve products and services, as well as reach wider audiences on a deeper level. You could be an existing and proven business or an up-and-coming one like the sports apparel brand GoSages. New waves of products and applications are coming to the fore, and in 2023, the stage looks set for more businesses than ever to use and benefit from live-streaming tech.

Platforms ready to bolster small and local businesses

Many small, medium, and local businesses have been apprehensive about adopting live-streaming technology, with part of the issue being the perceived lack of audience. In reality, provided that you prepare very well, live streams can still be successful for smaller businesses. As the video is live, you’ll need to ensure that everything on your side goes to plan while also potentially safeguarding against the negative sides of live streaming, such as by bringing in a moderator for any live chat functionality.

One such business looking to help other businesses take that step into the immersive new world of live streaming is XpoNorth Digital. Targeting Highlands organizations specifically, XpoNorth is now offering workshops for transforming a business digitally, which includes making the most of live-streaming technology. The focus of the workshops is to introduce clients to both the technical and creative elements that can help to leverage live tech to broaden the scope of the business.

Making the live element the core product

Live streaming delivers an immersive experience, real-time interactions, authentic delivery, and the sense that “anything can happen.” These elements alone can enable a product to be enhanced by applying live streaming, which is exactly what’s happening in the entertainment medium of online casino gaming. At Betway, the roulette section has gone from video format and computer-generated versions of the classic table game to a diverse selection of live roulette games. Now, there are the likes of Real Roulette and Dealers’ Club Roulette, all of which offer real-time betting on authentic tables that are live-streamed with a professional croupier to the player.

Many people used live streaming platforms for passive entertainment purposes before 2020, predominantly as viewers, but inventions like live casino games are turning live videos into two-way, interactive experiences. One of the more out-there applications of this can be seen in live virtual escape rooms. The Rock Avenue Escape Rooms now offer a live video setting via Zoom, in which you solve the mystery in Ready Mayor One: Apartment A.I. You also get an inventory system and can interact with electronic props remotely. You and your team get to solve puzzles from the comfort of your own homes, all via the advanced live-stream tech.

2023 is the year that live shopping will leave the Asia Pacific region

It’s been over five years since Taobao and Alibaba struck gold with their live eCommerce events, and in the years since, the concept has gradually spread further and further west. There are some western platforms that have started to dip their toe into the emerging market, but right now, social media networks look to be a popular, but somewhat low-tech approach to live eCommerce. In Europe, live stream shoppers did grow by 86 percent from pre-2020 to 2021, but from a fairly minimal audience.

However, merely going on Instagram Live to sell your old clothes is the lower end of live eCommerce tech application. There are brands like twigBIG that deliver a simulation of the real-life shopping experience in a kind of Amazon-meets-TikTok approach. Now, the big-name eCommerce platforms want a piece of the action. Fanatics started to sell its trading card and collectibles through a live stream, and Shopify has partnered up with YouTube to increase the video platform’s presence for the anticipated boom of live eCommerce. Other up-and-coming brands like UrbanKickz would do well to be at the front of this revolution in online shopping.

This year does look to be that live streaming technology truly takes off across the western business world. Right now, more brands and platforms are realizing the capability of leveraged live tech to make customer and client engagements much more engaging and productive.