Overview:
Popshop Live is an innovative e-commerce platform that uses streaming video to allow sellers to connect with their shoppers and sell their wares in a new, interactive way. It became so successful that in 2020, Popshop Live announced the close of a $3 million funding round, led by Floodgate and Abstract Ventures, with participation from Long Journey Ventures, Cyan and Scott Banister, Shrug Capital, Backend Capital, and Halogen Ventures, bringing the company’s total funding to $4.5 million. More success was to come.
The Challenge:
The initial challenge in 2018 was to design an app that combined the elements of e-commerce, livestreaming, and social media into a seamless user experience. The focus was on creating an engaging livestream shopping experience that stood out in a competitive market. In 2022, the challenge shifted to addressing user friction and improving the overall usability of the platform, which had become complex due to rapid growth and added features.
As the designer, I helped design the original app in 2018, transition into a react-first app, and led the redesign in 2022. The goal was to ensure the platform was intuitive and easy to use while maintaining a strong focus on the community aspect of the marketplace.
Launch (2018)
Merging the experience for livestream media, e-commerce and social came with multiple challenges, so we focused on few key features for our first consumer build:
App Store 3.3.0 (2018)
React Redesign (2020)
After the COVID-19 lockdown our customers began to adopt the livestream medium as their primary channel for commerce, Popshop then needed to become a multi-platform application which led to the following projects:
Redesign (2022)
Outcome:
The redesign significantly improved user experience and engagement on the platform. Popshop Live also leveraged Apple's SharePlay feature to enhance shared experiences during FaceTime calls, further boosting user interaction. In 2021, Popshop Live raised about $20M at a $100M valuation for its livestream shopping platform. In August 2023, Retail technology company CommentSold Technologies Inc. announced the acquisition of Popshop Live to merge their technologies and create the "Popshoplive Powered by CS" platform, expanding into the direct-to-consumer commerce sector.
