BIG FM has just launched its social commerce platform BIG Living, here’s all there is to know about it

• With more and more people getting comfortable with shopping online, social commerce has seen a huge boost in the last few years.
• BIG FM has just launched its social commerce platform called BIG Living.
• We speak to Abraham Thomas, Chief Executive Officer, Reliance Broadcast Network Limited, who tells us why a radio network ventured into social commerce and everything this new platform will entail.

The pandemic brought about a huge change in the retail ecosystem. Thousands of people who could not imagine buying products without first touching and feeling them, slowly got used to the idea, and adapt to it.

While social commerce had been witnessing a gradual growth even before the Covid-19 pandemic, the lockdown sped up the adaption atleast by a few years.

Identifying this opportunity, radio network BIG FM has launched BIG Living, a social commerce platform that will offer products ‘designed for consumers who care for themselves and the environment and want to live a sustainable life.’

“Over the past few years, we have witnessed the growing power of influencers. People are increasingly turning to influencers to get a sense of new products that are coming in. So we feel social commerce itself is becoming an integral part of every brand’s marketing mix. BIG FM has a large number of extremely trusted, credible local influences in our RJs, and in every city. Not only do they have a large followings on radio, they also have considerable followers on social media, both on their personal as well as the BIG FM handles. So we are trying to synergize the strength of our brand to positively influence consumers towards a curated set of brands and also offer fulfillment,” explained Abraham Thomas, Chief Executive Officer, Reliance Broadcast Network Limited.

The aim of BIG Living is to connect consumers to an array of like-minded brands, artisans and designers who share a similar philosophy of sustainable living and each product will be specially selected by BIG FMs RJs. From a brand’s perspective, the aim is also to enable them in expanding their footprint to other markets and building a community of people who believe in a brand.

How it also helps the brand is that it will get amplified on all the digital assets of BIG FM which will help it reach out to a much larger audience, at various touchpoints. “On BIG Living, we will give audiences the opportunity to try out latest products recommended by our individual influencers. We are trying to curate brands that are in sync with our philosophy,” he added.

To start with, BIG Living will offer products from 5 categories including Health & Wellness, Giving Back, Locally Made, Artisans and Designers and Workshops. A few brands that have already signed on include Gourme Foods, Soulspiti, Lux Lyra, Chitale Bandhu Mithaiwale, Jiden INC, Sunrise Masale (ITC), Bare Necessities, To Be Honest (TBH), Sheth Brothers (Pratikar Green Tea), amongst others.

With the launch of this platform, BIG FM will serve as a platform for brands to contribute to the overall well-being of individuals and communities and help businesses to expand and flourish. With a 360 degree campaign, the social commerce website will be extensively promoted across social media platforms of BIG FM and its partner platforms.