How Do I Technically Implement Live Shopping Features Without Crashing the App?

Live shopping events, characterized by features such as live video streams, interactive chats, and immediate purchasing options, require a robust infrastructure to prevent technical failures that can disrupt the user experience. The architecture of a successful live shopping system involves three independent yet interconnected planes: the video plane for streaming, the real-time plane for interactions like chat and reactions, and the commerce plane for transactions. Each plane should function independently to ensure that the overall experience remains stable even if one component fails. Low-Latency HLS (LL-HLS) is recommended for most live shopping use cases due to its reliability and scalability, while WebRTC can be used for scenarios requiring sub-second latency. Synchronization issues between video and real-time interactions can be mitigated by timestamping events and adjusting displays based on each viewer's video latency. Handling large volumes of interactions, such as chat messages and reactions, involves server-side aggregation, client-side buffer management, and server-side rate limiting to prevent crashes. Furthermore, backend support with strict timeouts, circuit breakers, and smart autoscaling is crucial to prevent client-side crashes caused by overloaded systems. Overall, the key to a seamless live shopping experience lies in isolating the functional planes, managing resources prudently, and implementing robust backend strategies to handle high traffic efficiently.