How small companies used shopstreaming in their fight for survival in a COVID-19 scenario: case studies from Brazil and Portugal

The digital acceleration triggered by COVID-19 was a disruptive transformation of society, which was not prepared for such quick changes in socialization, work, and consumption, among other activities. We were forced to reinvent ourselves, to pursue the continuity of our daily routines using tools already available, because there was no time to invent better ones. In this context, live performances on social media became very successful as a zero-cost (both for content producers and audiences) and highly engaging format. Brands, and particularly small companies, quickly took over this new tool, adopting a practice that had already emerged a few years ago, consisting of using live streaming as a channel for showcasing products and selling, thus being an alternative to the mandatory closure of stores. In order to better understand this emergent practice, this chapter looks into two examples: Mh2, a Brazilian fashion accessories company which used lives on Instagram to sell its products, and São Costureira, a Portuguese clothing brand which did the same using Facebook.