Women's fashion retailer Princess Polly takes different approach to live shopping after initial failure
Online fashion retailer Princess Polly has returned to the live shopping space after an initial attempt to crack this market fell flat.
In a Linkedin post, Kim Zorn, VP, Growth & Performance at Princess Polly, said: “Three years ago, we tried live shopping. It didn’t work. Wrong timing, wrong format, and honestly: we didn’t nail the entire set up and direction. So we parked it. Last year, we decided to try again. But this time, we treated it very differently.”
She added: “We didn’t see it a huge scripted production. We saw it as a new customer experience. We rebuilt from the ground up: Trialled a new live shopping set up and direction - authenticity as the key to success!; Created a dedicated live shopping team; Focused on consistency over one-off events - we’re now going live multiple times per week; Prioritised customer engagement, community building as a base to build up to stronger conversion; Learned fast, iterated faster.”
Princess Polly went on to became one of the fastest growing fashion brands in the US on TikTok Shop Live.
Zorn concluded: “What changed wasn’t just timing, it was mindset. Live shopping isn’t just “e-commerce with a camera on.” It’s storytelling, community, urgency, and trust - all happening in real-time. The biggest lesson: Channels don’t fail, execution does. And sometimes, you just have to be willing to come back and do it better. And I’m so glad we did! Curious to see where live commerce goes from here. Extremely grateful to have build the most amazing live shopping team who are absolutely crushing it. Let’s go.”
2026 RTIH Innovation Awards
Live shopping will be a key focus area at the 2026 RTIH Innovation Awards.
The awards are now open for entries and celebrate global retail technology innovation in a fast moving omnichannel world.
Our winners will be revealed at the 2026 RTIH Innovation Awards Ceremony, taking place at The HAC in Central London on Wednesday, 4th November.
Check out our 2025 winners here.
Our 2025 hall of fame entrants were revealed during a sold out event which took place at The HAC on 16th October and consisted of a drinks reception, three course meal, and awards ceremony presided over by award winning comedian, actress and writer Tiff Stevenson.
In his welcome speech, Scott Thompson, Founder and Editor, RTIH, said: “This is the awards’ fifth year as a physical event. We started off with just 30 people at the South Place Hotel not far from here, then moved to London Bridge Hotel, then The Barbican, and last year RIBA’s HQ in the West End.”
“But I’m conscious of the fact that, to quote the legend that is Taylor Swift, You’re only as hot as your last hit, baby. So, this year we’ve moved to our biggest venue yet, and also pulled in our largest number of entries to date and broken attendance records.”
He added: “This year’s submissions have without doubt been our best yet. To quote one of the judges: The examples of innovative developments across both traditional and digital retail spaces were truly remarkable.”
Congratulations to our winners, and a big thank you to our sponsors, judging panel, the legend that is Tiff Stevenson, and all those who attended our 2025 gathering.
