In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, Ecommerce has soured and the holiday season will be no exception. Ecommerce is projected to account for a record 18.9% of the total $206.8 billion in holiday sales projected for this year.
Last year, November Christmas shopping was disrupted by lockdowns and store closures. As a result, shoppers are sceptical as to whether they will be able to visit retailers and brands in person for the run up to Christmas. Now, people have brought their holiday buying forward, with many buying online and even stock piling in anticipation of shortages.
To capitalise on this mass move towards online buying, brands are reimagining their video content marketing strategies to include more engaging formats that replicate the experience of in-person shopping, online.
Key changes will be witnessed in Black Friday and Cyber Monday spending....
Online sales in October 2020 were already very high (up 25% year over year), which set the stage for an impressive Cyber Month in November 2020.
Global Black Friday 2020 sales more than doubled (+168%) compared to October of the same year. The 2019 Black Friday spike was more pronounced, at +213%.
This year on year increase forecasts big things for the 2021 shopping events. So, what formats will brands be investigating for their events?
Shoppable video solutions will be bridging the gap between online and offline shopping.
Rapid developments in technology have meant that Ecommerce has adapted over the past 18 months. One of the biggest crazes to sweep the globe has been live stream shopping. With the market expected to reach $25 billion in the US in 2023, brands have been quick to capitalise on such a revolutionary technology.
Live shopping has allowed brands to host exclusive events for customers from the comfort of their homes. The real-time video format creates a sociable atmosphere with hosts and customers communicating with each other to make big sales. This has really helped merchants to overcome the majority of obstacles put in place by the pandemic.
Even with vaccine roll out slowing the spread of the virus, people are still hesitant to leave their homes for potentially crowded areas. As a result, live shopping has helped to connect store associates and customers by removing the need to be together in person. The instant "see now, buy now" atmosphere of a one-off live stream encourages viewers to make impulse sales with special deals charging purchases. These discount events are expected to fuel Cyber Monday and Black Friday, presenting an exciting new future for Ecommerce.
Post Black Friday, live stream shopping events are likely to populate the internet right through to Boxing Day and beyond.
From gifting tutorials to styling and Christmas tree decorating, shoppable videos will shorten the path to purchase this festive period. They provide instant links to product pages as well as the ability to add items straight to the cart. See below for Smartzer's Christmas 20 partnership with Luxury retailer, Brown Thomas.
New shoppable video functionality takes the stress out of Christmas shopping by creating a memorable and entertaining experience. This elevates Ecommerce beyond the boredom of static images and flat, lecture-like video.
Fall head over (designer) heels for a season of fresh-thinking fashion, optimistic colour and uplifting looks with the fall/winter 2021 collections using shoppable video.
Bloomingdales UAE used Smartzer's interactive video platform to display the latest Fall trends for men and women's fashion. Using shoppable video on the collection landing page meant that Bloomingdales could introduce site visitors to a range of new products for her and him. This successfully turned uninformed traffic into informed, interested traffic that converted.
Execution:
The interactive video enabled viewers to select their chosen product, choose a size and add it straight to their bag to check out by simply tapping the content. Viewers could find multiple products featured in the models look, making the content extremely useful for product discovery. The bold, refreshing and colourful styles were brought to live in the dynamic video, engaging the consumer. A shoppable side carousel meant that all the looks could be browsed without stopping the interactive video.
Results:
By using an interactive video platform, the content had the following features:
Clickable overlay with product hotspots
Group popups featuring multiple products, sizing options and "add to bag" functionality
Product details like name, brand and price
Browsable product carousel with all the featured groups
Seamless landing page integration with the player matching the website fonts, symbols and spacing
Conclusion:
Bloomingdales UAE mastered the art of interactive and shoppable content using Smartzer's platform. The brand elevated their on site experience by using dynamic, engaging and enticing content that wows the viewer. The wide variety of products for men and women meant that there was something for everyone and as a result, boosted conversion rate.
Updated: Oct 11, 2021
The hottest update for all things shoppable video this Autumn
This year, shoppable video content has taken the world by storm, whether through on-demand or live stream shopping functionalities. The buzz is continuing as we approach the final few months of 2021 with some key new developments from some of the biggest names in tech and Ecommerce.
We've put together some of the freshest, most important industry updates that will undoubtedly have a lasting impact on video content marketing strategy...
YouTube announces shoppable CTV ads
“To help consumers more easily learn about the products and services they’re interested in, we’re making YouTube ads on connected TVs more shoppable.”
120 million Americans streamed YouTube or YouTube TV from their TV screens in December 2020. As a result, the video-sharing platform is taking the opportunity to become more shoppable by bringing video action campaigns to connected television (CTV).
Viewers watching on CTV will be able to type in the displayed web link to their desktop or mobile device to access brand Ecommerce without leaving the content. Google's conversion lift tool will let advertisers measure the effectiveness of their campaigns in real time with the tool providing information on web visits and purchases.
Coresight's 1010 Live Shopping Festival to Connect Brands and Retailers in Real-time
Coresight Research will host its second annual 10.10 Shopping Festival on October 10th from 10am to 10pm ET in partnership with livestream shopping platforms, CommentSold and Smartzer, and 1:1 live video co-shopping platform, GhostRetail.
Smartzer's interactive video platform will be used globally by brands to introduce them to the rapidly expanding world of live stream shopping in the US.
Retailers such as Macy's, Guess, Vera Langley, Neighborhood Goods and many others are taking part in the event, bringing live shop technologies to the forefront of US video content marketing.
Retail Week Shifts Their Focus to Live Stream Shopping and The Key Impacts it Could Have on The Western World
As more retailers trial livestream shopping in the UK, Retail Week explores what it could do for Western retail and what can be learned from the Chinese phenomenon.
In 2020 livestreaming sales reached an estimated £129bn in China, according to research group iiMedia, now accounting for 20% of its ecommerce sales. Operating 24 hours a day, for three hours at a time, live shopping events sell anything from instant noodles to Gucci handbags and from holiday villas to plastic surgery.
The event will be from the 13-14th October in London, England. Key speakers will include: Adam Harris Global Head of Brand Partnerships ,Twitch, Dr. Maggie Aderin-Pocock Space scientist and broadcaster, Jo Fairley Co-Founder,Green & Black's, Kshitij Kumar Chief Data Officer ,Farfetch, Ken Murphy CEO,Tesco and many more. All will be discussing how to continue innovating and gaining consumer trust and spend in this new landscape.