Primer Group targets Gen Z using TikTok livestreams

Live shopping provides a more engaging way for consumers to discover and buy products.

Manila-based Primer Group of Companies connects to digitally savvy Gen Z consumers through livestream shopping on TikTok, where they can learn about the retailer’s products by seeing their value in action.

“We’re very much targeting the younger generation,” Yuki Sy, general manager for Technology Innovation and eCommerce at Primer Group of Companies, said on the sidelines of the Retail Asia Forum in Manila.

“We see a lot of Gen Zs are really into TikTok,” he said. “A lot of them really scroll through their phones 24/7 for content. So having a strong livestreaming strategy is our focus right now, so we can improve the consumer experience.”

The popularity of live shopping has skyrocketed in recent years, providing a more engaging way for consumers to discover and buy products. The viewer can watch live product demonstrations and virtual shopping guides, or engage with a social media influencer host.

About five in 10 consumers in Southeast Asia tune in to livestream channels at least once a week, with 63% of them having made a purchase, according to a report from Milieu Insight last year.

In addition to livestreaming, Primer Group is also incorporating artificial intelligence (AI) to streamline operational efficiency.
Sy said a number of companies are maximising AI use for automation to lighten the workload on humans. “Retail, in terms of AI, will be really growing so rapidly in the next five years,” he added.

Sy views AI not as a replacement for human talent but as a tool to enhance efficiency. “In the next three to four years, our skill sets should evolve,” he pointed out.

He said there is a misplaced fear among some employees about how new technologies such as AI could replace them. To ease these worries, management should clearly communicate how AI could add value and support humans in the workplace.

Another key challenge is ensuring that the advantages of AI are communicated well, whilst always putting humans in the AI loop.

“Once it's very clear, the whole idea of AI, I think people would be more open to absorbing what AI can do for us in the next few years,” Sy said.