Orca's LiveMAX Unlocks Pro-Level Live Shopping for All Brands

CULVER CITY, CA – January 06, 2026 – Social commerce provider Orca today launched LiveMAX, a self-serve platform designed to dismantle the high barriers to entry for professional shoppable livestreaming. The new tool enables brands and retailers of any size to book and execute fully produced, high-conversion live shopping shows on TikTok Shop and Amazon Live in a matter of minutes, a process that traditionally required weeks of planning and significant financial investment.

Breaking Down the Barriers to Live Commerce

For years, the world of professionally produced live shopping has been an exclusive club, largely reserved for major corporations with deep marketing budgets and dedicated production teams. The logistical hurdles—sourcing studios, hiring sales-trained hosts, managing broadcast technology, and coordinating multiple vendors—have made it prohibitively complex and expensive for most small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) to even consider.

Orca's LiveMAX aims to change that paradigm by consolidating the entire production into a simple, web-based booking flow. Brands can now schedule a professional livestream through a four-step process: providing brand information, selecting a package with hosts and add-ons, customizing the stream's duration, and booking a time slot. This streamlined approach eliminates the logistical friction, allowing companies to focus on their products rather than production complexities.

“We believe the next era of ecommerce is interactive and shoppable, but the process of creating engaging live content has been too inaccessible for most brands,” said Max Benator, Co-Founder and CEO of Orca, in the announcement. “LiveMAX is the realization of our mission: to democratize livestream commerce. By creating a self-serve platform that removes all the friction, we’re allowing brands to focus solely on their products and watch an expert host turn viewers into customers.”

Once booked, brands gain access to Orca's state-of-the-art studios in Los Angeles, its roster of professional on-camera hosts trained in sales techniques, and strategic support from a dedicated producer. The service also includes real-time access to the show's performance and a post-show analysis with recommendations for future streams.

The Soaring Economics of Shoppable Video

The launch of LiveMAX arrives at a critical moment in e-commerce. The U.S. livestream shopping market, which generated an estimated $50 billion in sales in 2023, is projected to surge to $55 billion by 2026, comprising a growing slice of the overall e-commerce pie. This explosive growth is fueled by a powerful metric: conversion rates.

According to a widely cited report by McKinsey & Company, live commerce can achieve conversion rates approaching 30 percent—a figure that is up to ten times higher than the 2-3% average seen in conventional e-commerce. This dramatic uplift is attributed to the format's unique blend of entertainment and retail, which creates an immersive and urgent shopping experience. Real-time interaction with a host, detailed product demonstrations, and limited-time offers foster a sense of community and "fear of missing out" that traditional product pages cannot replicate.

Orca’s own experience underscores this potential. “We’ve seen firsthand how a genuine, professional host can boost Average Order Value by 30% or more,” noted Lauren Stevens, Co-Founder and Chief Content Officer at Orca. “LiveMAX delivers that quality and conversion capability instantly.”

By offering transparent, per-hour pricing that starts as low as $165 for volume bookings, LiveMAX makes these high-potential conversion rates a tangible goal for businesses that were previously priced out of the market. This pricing model presents a stark contrast to the often-opaque and substantial costs associated with bespoke agency work or building an in-house production capability.

A Streamlined Solution in a Competitive Market

LiveMAX enters a dynamic and varied market of live selling solutions. While platforms like Amazon offer the free Amazon Live Creator app for Brand Registered sellers, this DIY approach places the full burden of production, hosting, and strategy on the brand itself, often resulting in an amateur look that can fail to engage audiences. On the other end of the spectrum, full-service marketing agencies provide comprehensive, hands-on support but typically involve custom quotes, lengthy onboarding processes, and higher costs, keeping them out of reach for many.

Orca’s new tool carves out a unique middle ground. It combines the accessibility of a self-serve platform with the polish of a full-service production. This hybrid model is particularly potent given Orca's established credibility in the social commerce space. As a trusted TikTok Shop Partner, the company has a proven track record of executing successful campaigns for global giants including Estée Lauder, Mars, Inc., e.l.f., and Samsung. This expertise is now being packaged and offered at scale.

The platform’s focus on TikTok Shop and Amazon Live is also strategic. These two platforms represent massive, engaged audiences and have invested heavily in building out their native shopping infrastructures, making them fertile ground for brands looking to connect directly with consumers. By integrating seamlessly with these key ecosystems, LiveMAX ensures brands are broadcasting where their customers are already spending their time.

Reshaping the Future of Online Retail

Ultimately, the significance of tools like LiveMAX extends beyond a single company or product launch. They represent a fundamental shift in the landscape of digital retail, accelerating the move toward what many call "shoppertainment." The line between content consumption and commerce is blurring, and consumers increasingly expect interactive, engaging, and authentic shopping experiences that mirror the best of in-person retail.

By making professional-grade live selling accessible, Orca is empowering a new wave of brands to participate in this evolution. This could lead to a more diverse and dynamic live shopping environment, where niche players and emerging businesses can compete for consumer attention alongside established giants. The ability to book a professionally hosted show from a state-of-the-art studio in minutes lowers the risk for brands experimenting with the format for the first time, encouraging broader adoption.

Orca's commitment to advancing the industry is further evidenced by its role in organizing SoCom, the premier social commerce conference in the U.S., which helps solidify its position as a thought leader in the space. As more brands embrace the power of live interaction, the tools that enable them to do so efficiently and effectively will become an indispensable part of the modern marketing and sales toolkit.