Updated: Sep 7, 2021
The livestream industry is expected to be valued at a whopping 184.27 billion USD by 2027. The rapid transfer of events and retailers to the digital world due to the pandemic has accelerated this growth. As a result, livestream shopping just might be the future of e-commerce.
Although live shopping has been around for a while, China has been the first country to seize its true potential. Streaming commerce giant, Taobao, has taken live shopping to new heights with the combined transaction volume of its Marketplace and Tmall.com reaching 3 trillion yuan in 2017, more than that of all US e-commerce sites combined.
So, it isn't surprising that many of the top brands are taking a leaf out of China's book to take their businesses live to sell to the masses.
You might be asking yourself, how can I create a live shop?
In this post we will investigate the various options for brands to incorporate video interactivity and successfully break into the world of livestream shopping.
1. In-app formats on social media
You might decide to use the free and manual platforms that some social media applications offer. Facebook, Instagram and TikTok have been trialling formats that allow brands to shop live. For example Facebook allows users to create live streams by uploading pre-approved product links to their commerce manager. You can choose one of the following three options to go live on Facebook:
If you have a Commerce account with Commerce Manager, a linked Facebook Page and a product set in your Facebook catalogue, you can tag and feature product sets from your shop and add links.
If you have a Facebook Page but no commerce account, you can manually add the products and links that you want to feature just before going live.
You can also just start a live shopping video without the setup and talk about your products as you go.
DIY in-house formats can be a cheap way of creating a live shop. However, they remain exclusive to that platform and cannot be integrated into e-commerce landing pages. You will also need to gain approval of product links before adding them to your stream. Live shopping can be a great way to incorporate video interactivity into your campaigns. Streams provide a real-time community feel for viewers, building trust between them and the brand host.
2. Amazon Live
Amazon has created their own platform for influencers and brands to come together to promote products to audiences. This live shopping format allows hosts to give live reviews of products and demonstrate how they work. The videos are tagged with items in a shoppable carousel for viewers to purchase without leaving the video. Influencers are taking advantage of this new modality since they can advertise their products in action and use the streams video interactivity to answer customer questions in real time. Amazon Live has caught the attention of many and is now one of their most valuable features.
3. NTWRK
Founded in 2018, the streaming app exclusively sells streetwear and has become an essential buying experience for fans of Supreme, Off-White, Yeezy, Louis Vuitton and more. Live stream shopping has proven to be extremely effective on the app as NTWRK saw their sales surge 400% after using the tech to sell these limited edition pieces. Viewers can sign up to book spots on live product drops where hosts show off the items and consumers can purchase straight from the live shop video. Consumers can enter a lottery style system where they could win the opportunity to buy ultra rare products. This exclusivity offers customers a bespoke shopping experience that is both informative and exciting. Streetwear is just a small category, with the site selling a variety of items like cookbooks, toys and artwork. Through NTWRK's live shop, fashion fans can see the latest trends before anyone else.
4. Bambuser
Bambuser helps brands to incorporate video interactivity into campaigns by creating livestreams on brand e-commerce. The add on lets brands embed a code on their website that allows them to set up live stream events on ecommerce. Brands can then go live through the app and let their customers shop live alongside the stream. Viewers can add products to their basket from a shoppable carousel without leaving the video. They can also open a chat room where customers can interact with store associates to ask questions about products. This brings the benefits of in-person shopping online and helps build customer trust and loyalty. Bambuser's stream offerings include one-to-many or one-to-one videos. This is a great option for businesses looking to bring live shopping directly to their websites and build video interactivity into their content marketing strategy.
5. Smartzer
Smartzer's interactive video platform provides brands with the tools to create a livestream shopping experience for viewers across multiple websites. Brands can build a shoppable product carousel to show alongside the stream by importing directly from a product catalogue or manually. Brands can connect the platform to their stream using the RTMP ID and a Stream Key to go live. Smartzer allows brands to create a live shop on e-commerce and allows sharing across social media. Online luxury retailer, My Theresa, previously worked with Smartzer to deliver Burberry’s shoppable runway. Viewers could virtually sit front row at the highly anticipated fashion week show. Consumers could shop the products modelled directly after the show instead of waiting 6 months for release. This shoppable video stream excited fans through a “see now, buy now” ethos. The shoppability of the show introduced a sense of urgency to the viewer that encouraged them to make a purchase. This interactive front row experience brings customers and brands closely together in socially distanced times.
Whether you decide to create a live shop manually or using a paid platform, livestream can create a unique, interactive shopping experience for viewers. The memorable, engaging and immersive, real-time video gives consumers the confidence to make purchases by strengthening customer brand relationships.
So you want to use interactive video but you don't know where to start?
In this post, we will explain how to make interactive video and introduce you to the interactive video platforms that can help maximise engagement and conversion.
Let's start with the basics.....
What are interaction videos?
Interaction videos are a type of media that support user engagement. Top brands are starting to use the format to engage audiences to reach their digital marketing goals. Viewers can immerse themselves in videos by clicking on various hotspots. They may be able to find out more about a product, play a game, explore a 360 degree landscape, participate in a quiz or make a purchase. With 68% of marketers predicting that interaction videos will become a significant part of modern marketing, the format presents a key opportunity for brands to optimise their promotional content to be as memorable as possible.
Interaction videos are popular. Viewers are more likely to watch from start to finish, 44% longer than standard video. It is fully measurable as brands can track every interaction that occurs within the video. Metrics might include dwell time, interactions, shares, plays, user paths, 'add to carts', all engagement, all conversion and all completion rates. Exciting stuff.
How to make interactive video
So, how does it work?
There are several interactive video platforms that can help brands make exciting, creative and clickable content. This can even be achieved by revamping existing videos. Here are some of the options you may encounter and some information you should consider when choosing an interactive video platform.
DIY videos using in-app interactive formats
Apps like Facebook have in-house software that can help users create interactive material like polls, gamified experiences, quizzes and monetized videos. Instagram and TikTok have also started to introduce formats for users to use to allow their consumers to shop directly from their content. TikTok has also started to integrate shoppable live stream formats for brands to use to engage customers. These platforms allow brands to manipulate existing content and add features like hotspots, shoppability, branching and more.
Using an interactive video platform company
Turning your own existing content into interaction videos can be exhausting, time consuming and complicated. So, the easiest option can be to partner with a professional interactive video company.
Here are some of the options available to brands depending on the type of content they want to create:
1. Rapt: branching videos
Rapt Media's cloud based interactive video platform allows brands to build experiences in the Composer and publish them to a player. Analytics can be measured via the dashboard. The result is a customised experienced that takes users on a fun and exciting interactive journey. These interaction videos can be embedded on websites or across social media platforms. Having previously worked with Toyota, Rapt helped the brand create a 'Choose Your Wild' interaction video campaign. The viewer was able to take the 4Runner out for a virtual test drive by choosing one of three off-road and totally wild pathways.
2. Smartzer: interactive and shoppable videos
Smartzer's interactive video platform allows users to turn new and existing video content into dynamic, immersive clickable marketing content. This is done via an interactive overlay. Here, brands can add products by tagging images, text, product API's, URLs, product feeds or manually. When complete, a viewer will be able to click these tags to learn more, explore the video, customise items, 'buy now', 'book a test drive' or more via calls-to-action. The quick and easy software can increase engagement rates by 40% and increase conversions by 400%. Smartzer also provides a format to create shoppable live streams. Brands use Smartzer’s live player that can be fully integrated into the Demandware API, to instantly pull up-to-date product information into the Smartzer editor and player to be showcased to viewers within the stream. Viewers can then shop along with the video in real-time, clicking products displayed in a carousel, adding to basket or making a purchase without leaving the stream. Smartzer has helped brands like NARS, Christian Dior, Adidas, Missoni and BMW create interaction videos for campaigns.
3. Vizia: quizzes, polls, CTA
Originally the company was using their software to make e-learning videos. Now, they have extended their platform to fit businesses and brands. Using Vizia interface brands can insert multiple choice quizzes, polls, short answer questions into their videos and then embed them anywhere across blogging platforms, site builders, e-commerce and more. The measurable qualities of quizzes are a great way to gain data from viewers. End of quiz CTA's encourage higher conversion rates. Videos can be easily shared across social media to achieve virality turning passive viewers into active participants.
4. VRCRAFTWORKS: 360 degree interaction videos
VRCraftworks offers a bespoke interactive video platform for brands. These videos are like a virtual reality, the user is fully immersed into the video and can spin, zoom, click and more to explore. The high-tech company has a range of virtual reality packages from gamification, training and simulation to story telling. Above is an example of Royal Caribbean Cruises partnership with VRCraftworks to create a promotional sales tool to help up-sale to existing customers. Each menu 'orb' can be clicked on to visit a 360 degree holiday destination.
Other interactive video platforms include:
- WIREWAX - Interactive and shoppable video
- VYOND - Animated interactive video
- HERO - conversational commerce
Whether you decide to incorporate DIY interaction videos or use a professional platform, the format will undoubtedly boost engagement, CTR and conversions.
Updated: Mar 19, 2021
Interactive features can help ecommerce sites optimise their online content and engage as many visitors as possible. Brands must focus on turning standard traffic into qualified traffic because at the end of the day, the main objective of ecommerce is to achieve conversions.
Considering this, how can brands create immersive and memorable ecommerce content to succeed online?
Here are some of the ways brands can use interaction videos on ecommerce to engage and convert.
1. Interactive and Shoppable Videos: Feelunique X Smartzer
Feelunique used Smartzer's interactive video platform to create a shoppable video for their ecommerce. Smartzer's technology allows brands to make new and existing content interactive by adding a clickable overlay where brands can tag products for users to buy. Product info can be added via images, text, URL's, Product API's, Product Feed and manually. The viewer can click on an item that interests them to learn more, check out colour ways and "buy now" by tapping the call to action. By using interaction video on ecommerce, brands can increase their engagement rates by 40% and increase conversion rates by 400%. This video is particularly effective as viewers can see the cosmetics in action, giving them the confidence to buy.
2. Virtual Showrooms on Wholesale Ecommerce: Nu Order
Nu Order has embraced interactive and shoppable video on their B2B ecommerce platform. Here, brands can create virtual showrooms that display their products to retailers for purchase. Nu Order's technology allows products to be shown in 3D via a 360 rotational tool. Viewers can zoom, spin and swipe items to view them in more detail. The ecommerce site provides a central place for retailers to shop collections. The platform also supports shoppable campaign videos and runway shows. This creates an experience like no other, immersing the viewers in the latest trends.
3. Surveys, Quizzes and Forms: Two Chimps Coffee
Surveys, quizzes and forms can help provide a bespoke and personalised experience for site visitors. In fact, 80% of consumers are more like to purchase from brands that offer personalised experiences. For example, Two Chimps Coffee provides a dynamic and informative quiz on the site landing page. This allows customers to find their perfect blend straight away, shortening the path to purchase with no need to spend ages browsing through every product. By reducing the steps in the purchase funnel, quizzes can lead to quicker conversions on ecommerce.
4. Chat Bots and Conversational Commerce: Hero
Chat bots help generate engagement and conversion by offering advice and help to site visitors 24/7. This can be through automated response or through store assistants on the other end of the line. Chat features aim to bring the benefits of in store shopping, online through personalised advice. This gives consumers the confidence to make informed purchases. Conversational ecommerce app, Hero, allows brands to communicate with customers via chat rooms and video calls. This gives a human feel to computer driven bots. Customers can schedule store visits, 1-1 calls, creating a personal channel to connect brands and engage consumers. Hero has worked with ecommerce sites like Size?, Nike, Harvey Nichols, Chloe, Nike and more. The chat bot industry is set to be worth $1.34 billion by 2024.
5. Interactive Product Testing: NYX Cosmetics
NYX has introduced a virtual try on feature to their ecommerce site. Users can try on products by opening their live cameras or choosing a model similar to their skin tone. Consumers can then browse the product catalog and try on various cosmetics to find their dream shade. The before and after button allows users to see the results. This shoppable feature brings beauty counters to customer homes and provides a fun, almost gamified experience to beauty shopping. Try it for yourself here!
6. Livestream Video Events: Brown Thomas X Smartzer
Brown Thomas used livestream to sell their products in real-time. Using Smartzer's interactive video platform they were able to create a clickable and shoppable video stream on their ecommerce site. The platform allows brands to add product links before the stream on an editor. Brands can then build a shoppable carousel that will feature alongside the stream, see above for Charlotte Tilbury's example. The video will then be connected to the live streaming service on ecommerce sites where viewers can watch and shopalong. Livestream events can be ticketed to create a sense of exclusivity for the customer. Being able to see products in action will help consumers made educated purchases within the video. Following the stream, brands will be able to reuse the interaction video on ecommerce landing pages to promote products for purchase.
These examples demonstrate how brands can use interactivity to generate engagement and conversions on ecommerce sites. Brands should stay on top of shoppable trends to succeed on ecommerce.