Pre-Recorded Premieres for Live Shopping: Schedule a Video That Plays Like a Live Show

Live shopping works because it feels like an event: everyone watching at the same time, chatting, asking questions and reacting to offers. But going live is not always practical. The host may be traveling, the best time for your audience may be the middle of the night in your time zone, or you may want a polished, edited video rather than an unscripted broadcast.

Premieres solve this. With LiveShoply you can schedule a pre-recorded video to play on your storefront at a set time, and it behaves like a live show: viewers watch together, chat is open and products can be pinned and bought in real time. This guide explains how premieres work and how to get the most out of them.

Premieres sit between two other LiveShoply formats. A live show is fully real-time, with the host reacting on camera. A shoppable video or replay is fully on demand, watched whenever a shopper finds it. A premiere combines a fixed video with a shared, scheduled moment, so you keep the sense of occasion that drives live shopping while removing the pressure of performing live. Used well, it gives smaller teams a way to run a regular schedule of events without being on camera every week, and it lets you plan launches down to the minute. The sections below walk through the full workflow, from preparing the file to following up afterwards.

What a premiere is

A premiere is a show whose video comes from a file rather than a camera. You upload a video, or import one by link, attach products and pick a start time. At that time, the video starts playing for everyone on your live page and in the live player on your storefront. Everyone sees the same moment of the video, just like a broadcast, and nobody can skip ahead.

The surrounding experience is the same as a live show:

• Live chat is open for viewers.
• Products appear under the video with a variant picker and add to cart button.
• You or a teammate can join chat, answer questions, run polls and share live-only deals.
• The mini-player keeps the premiere playing while viewers browse your store.
• Viewers can sign up for reminders before it starts.

When to use a premiere instead of going live

Premieres are not a replacement for live shows, but they are a useful tool in several situations:

• Product launches with high production value. A carefully filmed launch video, with b-roll and good editing, can premiere at the exact moment a collection drops.
• Different time zones. Record once, then premiere at a convenient hour for customers in another region while your team joins chat.
• Hosts who are not comfortable live. Founders, designers or guest experts can record in advance with retakes.
• Repurposing content. A great tutorial or behind-the-scenes video from your archive can get a second life as a scheduled shopping event.
• Consistency. If you want a weekly show but cannot always be live, premieres keep the schedule going.

Where premieres are weaker is spontaneity. The host cannot react to chat on camera, so viewer questions must be handled in chat by your team.

Plan requirements

Premieres are available on the Starter plan and above. Premiere viewing counts toward your monthly viewer minutes in the same way as a live show. See the pricing page and our guide to understanding viewer-minute pricing.

Preparing your video

A premiere is only as engaging as the video behind it. Plan it like a live show, with a few adjustments:

• Keep it focused. 15 to 30 minutes is a good range. Long, slow videos lose viewers faster than live shows because there is no real-time interaction on screen.
• Structure it in product segments. Spend a clear block on each product so your team knows when to pin it.
• Invite chat participation. Have the host say things like "Tell us in the chat which color you would pick" so the chat has something to respond to.
• Avoid time-specific claims you cannot keep. If the host mentions a discount, make sure the code will actually be active during the premiere.
• Export in a common format. MP4 with H.264 video and AAC audio is the safest choice. 1080p is plenty.

Write down a timeline of when each product appears, for example "04:10 wool cardigan, 09:30 scarf set". This becomes your pinning cue sheet.

Uploading a video or importing by link

Create a new show in the LiveShoply admin and choose premiere as the type. You then have two ways to provide the video:

1. Upload a file from your computer. Larger files take longer depending on your connection, so upload well before the scheduled time.
2. Import by link by pasting a URL to a video file. LiveShoply fetches and processes it for you. This is convenient when the video is already hosted somewhere, for example on a cloud storage link.

Wait until processing is complete and preview the video in the admin to confirm it plays correctly from start to finish, with sound.

Scheduling the premiere

Set the date and start time, add a title and description, and attach the products featured in the video. A scheduled premiere appears on your storefront live page as an upcoming show, and visitors can sign up for an email reminder on the Starter plan and above.

Promote it like any live event: announce it in your newsletter, on social media and with a banner on your homepage. Our guide on how to promote a live shopping event has a full checklist.

During the premiere: chat, products and deals

At the scheduled time, playback begins automatically. Your job is to make it feel live:

• Be in chat from the first second. Greet viewers by name and answer questions quickly.
• Pin products on cue. Use your timeline to pin each product as it appears in the video.
• Run polls. Ask viewers to vote on colors, styles or the next drop.
• Share live deals. Time-limited, live-only discount codes create urgency even when the video is pre-recorded. See live chat, polls and live deals.
• Moderate. Hide spam or off-topic messages to keep the chat useful.

After the premiere

When the video finishes, the premiere ends and becomes a replay. Like other replays, it stays shoppable and can be added to product pages and playlists in your theme. Learn more in our guide to shoppable replays and the video library.

Check the Insights page to see viewers, watch time and orders attributed to the premiere, and compare it with your live shows. Many merchants find a mix of live shows and premieres gives the best balance of energy and consistency.

Frequently asked questions

Can viewers pause or skip during a premiere? No. During the premiere, everyone watches the same moment, as with a live show. After the premiere ends and becomes a replay, viewers can watch on demand.

Can I edit the video after scheduling? If you need to change the video, replace it before the premiere starts and preview it again. Changing the video during playback is not supported, so finish editing before you schedule.

Can I reschedule a premiere? Yes, you can change the start time before it begins. If people have already signed up for reminders, let them know about the change in your other channels as well.

What happens if nobody from the team is in chat? The video still plays and viewers can still buy pinned products, but unanswered questions hurt the experience. Treat a premiere like a live show and staff the chat for its full length.

Can I invite a guest to a premiere? Premieres play a pre-recorded file, so guests must be included in the recording itself. If you want to bring in remote guests in real time, use a live show instead; LiveShoply supports co-hosted shows with guests invited by link.

What video length works best? For most stores, 15 to 30 minutes works well. Shorter premieres feel like an event without dragging, and they use fewer viewer minutes per viewer.

Being transparent with viewers

Viewers generally do not mind pre-recorded content, but they do mind being misled. Avoid claiming the host is live when they are not. A simple line in the description, such as "Premiere: our team is in the chat to answer your questions," sets the right expectation while keeping the event feel. If you have any questions about setting up premieres, use live chat on the in-app Help page, or browse all tools on the features page.