China turned live commerce into a major online sales channel. Now, Popin Live brings LIVE video shopping to India, connecting shoppers with brands and store experts in real time.

For years, online shopping has followed a familiar formula: search, scroll, compare, read reviews, and buy.

But what if online shopping could feel more like walking into a store?

What if, instead of trying to understand a product through photos and descriptions, you could see it live, ask questions, compare options, and speak directly to someone from the store before buying?

China has already shown what can happen when shopping and live video come together.

And now, that experience is becoming accessible to shoppers in India through Popin Live, a free live shopping app that brings brands and their stores to your screen.

China Showed the World What Live Shopping Could Become

Live commerce isn't exactly new. China has been developing the format for years, with Alibaba's Taobao Live helping establish livestream shopping as a major retail channel.

McKinsey describes China as the most mature live-commerce market, noting that frequent live-shopping users in China engage with the format far more regularly than users in several other markets. Its research also highlights the potential of live commerce to increase sales, engagement and customer relationships.

The scale has continued to grow.

According to China's Ministry of Commerce's e-commerce information site, China's live-commerce GMV exceeded ¥5 trillion in 2025, accounting for nearly one-third of online retail sales. The same source says brand-operated livestreaming has become mainstream, with brand-owned livestreaming accounting for more than half of live-commerce GMV.

That tells us something important:

Live shopping isn't simply another way to advertise a product. It has become a way of selling.

Why Did Live Shopping Work So Well?

Traditional e-commerce is incredibly convenient, but it can leave shoppers with unanswered questions.

How does that sofa actually look in real life?

Is the fabric textured or completely smooth?

What does that colour look like under normal lighting?

Will that mattress suit my sleeping preference?

How big is that piece of furniture compared with an actual person?

Is the product worth the price?

Photos, specifications and reviews help. But for many products, they don't answer everything.

Live shopping adds something traditional e-commerce often lacks:

real-time human interaction.

A shopper can watch a product being demonstrated, ask a question and immediately receive an answer.

McKinsey's research on live commerce highlights this combination of video, interaction and instant purchasing as one of the format's key strengths.

It takes the experience from:

“I think this is what I need.”

to:

“Now I can actually see it, understand it and decide.”

And Now, India Gets Its Own Live Shopping Experience

India's online shopping ecosystem has grown dramatically, but the fundamental challenge remains:

How do you recreate the confidence of a physical store online?

That's where Popin Live comes in.

Popin Live is a free shopping app where shoppers can discover brands and connect with their stores through live video.

Instead of simply scrolling through product images, shoppers can enter a live video shopping session with a verified store or seller.

Want to see a product from another angle?

Ask.

Want to compare two options?

Ask.

Want to understand the size, colour, finish, fabric or functionality?

Ask.

Want to see how it actually looks in real time?

The store expert can show you.

The Popin Live app currently covers categories including furniture, mattresses, home décor, consumer electronics, lighting, kitchen and dining, fashion, jewellery, appliances, beauty and wellness.

From Big Brands to New Businesses — Discover Them Live

One of the interesting things about live shopping is that it can change how people discover brands.

Instead of finding a brand only through an advertisement or a marketplace search, shoppers can discover its products through a live interaction.

Popin Live brings different kinds of businesses onto one platform — from established brands to growing businesses and stores.

Brands such as Furnishka, Wakefit and Kalki Fashion are already featured on Popin Live, alongside businesses across furniture, homeware, fashion, rentals, luxury and décor.

For a shopper, that means more than simply having another catalogue to browse.

It means having the opportunity to visit a store virtually.

The Physical Store Is No Longer Limited by Geography

Traditionally, a store has a physical boundary.

A customer has to travel there.

A salesperson can only help the people who walk through the door.

A shopper in another city may never get to see the product beyond photographs.

Live video changes that equation.

With Popin Live, shoppers can connect with store teams remotely and explore products through live video. For brands, this creates a way to extend their store experience beyond their physical location.

So instead of:

Store → Customer walks in → Product demonstration → Purchase

the journey can become:

Brand → Live Store → Customer anywhere → Product demonstration → Confident purchase

The store doesn't disappear.

It comes to the customer.

This Could Be the Next Evolution of Online Shopping

McKinsey's research has described live commerce as having significant long-term potential for brands and e-commerce platforms, while also noting that different markets will develop the format in different ways.

That distinction matters.

India doesn't need to copy China's shopping culture.

It can take the underlying idea — live interaction + product discovery + human guidance — and build it around the way Indian shoppers already shop.

And that is what makes platforms such as Popin Live interesting.

The next generation of online shopping doesn't necessarily have to choose between:

the convenience of online shopping

and

the confidence of visiting a store.

It can combine both.

From “Let Me Check the Reviews” to “Let Me See It Live”

Think about how many online purchases begin.

You find something interesting.

Then you zoom into the photographs.

Read reviews.

Search Instagram.

Watch YouTube videos.

Look for someone who has used it.

Open another website.

Compare prices.

And still wonder:

“But what does it actually look like?”

Live shopping brings the answer much closer to the moment of decision.

You can simply connect with the store and ask.

That's particularly valuable for high-consideration products — furniture, mattresses, electronics, fashion, décor, appliances and other products where seeing and understanding the product can make a difference.

Welcome to India's Live Shopping Era

China demonstrated how powerful live commerce can become when online shopping evolves from a passive browsing experience into an interactive one.

Now, Indian shoppers don't have to wait for that future.

With the Popin Live app, shoppers can discover brands, connect with verified stores, watch products being demonstrated live, ask questions in real time and make purchase decisions with more information and clarity.

And the best part?

You don't have to pay to access the live shopping experience.

Download Popin Live, discover brands and shop with the store — live.

Because the future of online shopping may not be about seeing more product pictures.

It may be about seeing the product properly.

No guesswork. More clarity. Real people. Live shopping.

Explore Popin Live on the App Store