AMAZON.COM on Friday (Sep 30) rolled out a live-streaming video feature for promoting products on its shopping platform in India, employing a format already popular in China to drive sales in Asia’s third largest economy.

The company has tied up with social media influencers to host live-streams during which they can interact with customers and also offer limited period deals.

Live-stream shopping events are hugely popular in China, with those on Alibaba Group Holding’s Taobao and Bytedance’s Douyin driving millions of US dollars in sales.

YouTube in July also expanded live-stream shopping by permitting eligible creators to link their Shopify profiles, allowing viewers to complete purchases without leaving the video platform.

“With Amazon Live launch, we want to make the shopping experience exciting and meaningful for our customers,” said Kishore Thota, director, customer experience and marketing, Amazon India. REUTERS