J.C. Penney debuts livestream holiday shopping show

J.C. Penney is offering live digital shopping for holiday merchandise on Facebook, YouTube, and its e-commerce site.

The department store retailer is introducing “JCP Live,” a livestream show designed to offer shoppers insight into its hottest holiday items. During each segment, popular influencers join the stream to help promote featured merchandise, including vintage turntables, dinnerware, and air fryers. JCP Live will stream on Facebook, YouTube, and jcp.com each Friday at 11 a.m. CST until Friday, Dec.18, with two bonus shows on Cyber Monday.

Livestreaming is becoming an increasingly popular tool to promote omnichannel holiday shopping. Retailers including Fred Segal, Amazon, Alibaba, and Anne Klein have all integrated livestreaming events into their holiday promotions.

Each JCP Live segment is curated around a theme like health and wellness, family fun, top tech, and cozy comfort, and includes featured, on-sale merchandise discussed between the influencer and a J.C. Penney co-host. Customers can engage throughout the segment with comments and questions, and five audience members will win a J.C. Penney gift card each week. 

The retailer is recording and archiving JCP Live shows on its e-commerce site and social channels so viewers can watch past segments if they missed the stream.

“With gift-giving inspiration streamed live, J.C. Penney is committed to creating fun and newness with compelling merchandise and a safe and engaging shopping experience to keep customers inspired all season,” J.C. Penney said in a corporate blog post.