Key Examples of Live Trends Data in Ecommerce

Showing live trends data to shoppers provides them with useful information which can help them to come to a decision about a purchase.

Used well, it can also add an element of urgency which can drive conversions.

Live trends data is generally used to show product availability and can also be a form of marketing through scarcity.

In this blog post, we’ll look at some examples of sites using live trends data well to help users and to increase conversions…

Live Trends in Travel

One industry that uses live trends effectively is travel, whether it be hotels, flights, car hire or package deals.

Theses sites use FOMO (fear of missing out) to encourage consumers to convert. Below is an example from Booking.com.

Live trends data is a great fit for hotel sites, as the limitations of the user’s search and hotel availability provides an opportunity to present a range of data.

Here, Booking.com use two examples of live trends in order to induce a sale. This uses social proof techniques by showing it has been booked twice in the past 24 hours which indicates the hotel is desirable.

Additionally, by showing that there is only one room left will speed up the purchase. This is because shoppers won’t want to risk missing out if they are interested and will be less likely to look elsewhere to avoid disappointment.

Booking.com uses live trends data very well. Customers are not bombarded with messages, but the trends data is still present to give a little nudge to purchase.

Stock Levels

Using live trends for fashion is an effective method to encourage sales and to prevent shoppers from abandoning and going elsewhere.

Here Office displays stock level data on product pages. By doing this, shoppers can see that they risk missing out and therefore need to make a faster decision to purchase.

However, when displaying stock levels, it’s important to not overdo it. If shoppers get this message on every item that they browse, these messages can lose their effectiveness.

Another ecommerce site that uses live stock levels effectively is Amazon.

Not only has Amazon used stock levels here in order to influence shoppers to convert, there is also a promo code directly next to it.

By doing this, shoppers will be more likely to take the plunge on a larger purchase as they won’t want to miss out, the money off will encourage the shopper to think that it is the right decision.

Live Trends Takeover

Live Trends data can be extremely effective at increasing conversions but, when used badly, can potentially interrupt the customer journey.

Very’s solution to this is show live trends only briefly:

By only showing live trends for a few seconds, the message is put across effectively without being too interpretive and taking over the screen the whole time, which can be off-putting.

Timings can be adjusted for live trends in order to suit the desired effect, but a shorter display time is recommended.

Live Trend Display Options

Different display options have different results, Flight Network uses subtle overlay messages to show the number of people viewing a specific flight.

By having this displayed through the booking process, it’s a constant reminder that their flight option is in demand, adding urgency to speed up conversions. At the same time, the small display doesn’t take away from the booking journey.

A more attention-grabbing way to use live trends is by using a full-screen takeover.

As these can sometimes interrupt the consumer on their journey to purchase, the most effective method for displaying this style of live trends is to base it on either idle time or exit intent.

In this way, messages are shown at the right time – when customers are thinking about leaving the site, rather than when they’re making a purchase.

In Summary…

Online retailers have lots of data on customer behavior, product views and purchase trends, and it can pay to use this to help and inform other shoppers. When displayed in the right context, live trends data can give consumers a gentle nudge to purchase