Why live commerce is the sleeping giant of the attention economy

In the world of digital advertising, consumer attention is the currency—and to be frank most brands are bankrupt.

 

For years, advertisers have obsessed over ad viewability and engagement rates to ensure their digital ads are seen, not just served. Millions of dollars are spent optimising six-second social ads, ensuring programmatic banners are placed in brand-safe environments, and tweaking YouTube pre-rolls to capture just a few more seconds of user focus. The importance of attention was at the heart of Dentsu’s Attention Economy study, which showed that even a modest 5% increase in attention can lead to a boost in in-market awareness, and that attention predicts outcomes three times better than viewability of an ad. 

 

However, research from Amplified Intelligence reveals that nearly 85% of online ads do not pass the 2.5-second attention-memory threshold, that critical point at which a brand starts to embed itself in a person’s memory. 

 

Yet, at the same time, live commerce is delivering thousands of hours of fully engaged, 100% leaned-in attention—and brands are barely noticing.

 

As the attention economy continues to take centre stage, it’s time to rethink what we truly value, because if a consumer voluntarily spends 30 minutes in a brand’s livestream, interacting, asking questions, and watching products being demonstrated in real time, shouldn’t that be worth more than a three-second passive ad view?

 

Right now, brands are sitting on an unrealised goldmine of consumer attention—and they don’t even know it.

 

The leaned-in attention deficit in digital media
 

Let’s take a step back. Over the past decade, digital advertising has evolved into an impressions game—one where mere exposure is often valued over actual engagement.

 

We’ve built an entire industry around ensuring ads are seen for at least one second for a display ad and two seconds for a video ad (the standard set by the Media Rating Council or MRC). But what does one second of attention really mean?

 

A YouTube ad might get skipped the moment the 'Skip Ad' button appears. A social media video ad may autoplay as someone scrolls past it. A programmatic display ad could technically be 'viewable' but ignored completely.

 

Sure, brands have gotten smarter about optimising creative for short attention spans, but the reality is that most digital ads operate in a state of passive consumption. They flash by in between content, hoping to register just enough brand recall before the user moves on.

 

By contrast, live commerce demands active participation.

 

A consumer who joins a livestream isn’t just watching passively—they’re engaging, asking questions, gifting, reacting to hosts, and considering a purchase in real time. They’re not multitasking or scrolling mindlessly. They’re leaned in, fully focused, and making purchase decisions on the spot.

 

That kind of deep engagement is practically unheard of in modern digital advertising—yet brands are still treating live commerce as just another transactional sales channel, rather than a breakthrough in capturing true consumer attention.

 

Why live commerce is the ultimate attention engine
 

If the attention economy is all about measuring, optimising, and maximising attention, then live commerce should be its holy grail.

 

A social ad might capture just 3–6 seconds of attention. A YouTube ad? Maybe 15 seconds—if it isn’t skipped. A banner ad? Barely a fraction of a second. But in live commerce consumers stay engaged for 15-30 minutes on average, and some for hours, according to various studies including McKinsey’s. 

 

There is no other digital ad format where brands get that much continuous, focused attention. That attention is 100% leaned-in viewership from a high-intent audience in a brand-controlled environment, where they are actively engaging with the host, asking questions and making real-time purchase decisions. 

 

No longer do brands have to hope that attention leads to action, they can see it in real time, as consumers ask questions about a product, get answers in the chat, and even send gifts to the host, all reducing friction in the purchase decision, as the consumer buys on the spot. 

 

A missed opportunity in the attention economy
 

Despite all this, brands still massively undervalue live commerce as an attention channel.

 

Many treat it only as a direct sales driver, measuring success in immediate conversions rather than in the deeper, long-term brand impact that sustained consumer attention brings.

 

This is a massive mistake.

 

If a brand is willing to spend millions ensuring that a three-second ad is viewed by a real human in a brand-safe environment, shouldn’t they be just as obsessed with optimising 30-minute live commerce sessions that offer guaranteed, 100% leaned-in attention?

 

If a company like P&G invests heavily in viewability tracking for display ads, shouldn’t they apply the same rigor to ensuring their live commerce streams aren’t wasted with low-energy hosts, awkward silences, or poor production quality?

 

It’s time for a shift in thinking.

 

A million hours of consumer attention is still a million hours of attention—whether it’s split across 15-second Instagram ads or 45-minute live commerce streams. In a world where brands obsess over micro-metrics like viewability and click-through rates, ignoring the power of sustained, real-time engagement is not just a missed opportunity—it’s a strategic failure.

 

The sleeping giant of the attention economy
 

Live commerce isn’t just an ecommerce channel. It’s the most immersive, engaged, and leaned-in attention channel brands have ever had access to.

 

The attention economy is evolving, and in an era of increasingly fragmented consumer focus, brands that master the art of capturing 100% leaned-in attention through live commerce will be the ones that lead. If just three seconds of passive attention is considered a win, what is 30 minutes from hundreds of consumers worth?

 

Millions? Billions? The answer is clear if brands are bold enough to act.

 

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