- Mar 2, 2021
A wholesaler is a distributor that sells products to a retailer in bulk, offering big discounts. But how can interactive video technology help wholesale in 2021?
Technology is revolutionising the practice of buying and selling online. Merchants have been able to connect virtually with clients when face-to-face meetings were prohibited. Interaction video software has been a major contributor to making this happen.
Here are some of the ways interactive video platforms are transforming wholesale:
LE NEW BLACK: 360 PLATFORM FOR WHOLESALE MANAGEMENT
Le New Black helps brands to digitalise their wholesale. Through their sales order app for iPad, sales reps are able to capture orders online and offline, scan barcodes, add and sync styles and prices. Brands can showcase and sell collections 24/7 with a 360 degree, virtual, B2B, online showroom. Retailers can conveniently browse linesheets, place orders, reorders and book appointments. Taking inspiration from the 2020 Fashion week responses to COVID, Le New Black seeks to replicate the benefits of browsing collections in person, online through shoppable video.
JOOR: VIRTUAL APPOINTMENTS AND SHOWROOMS
The interactive video platform supports buying with confidence through dynamic and 360 degree imagery. Brands can share their collections and make shoppable videos and images by adding hotspots. The interaction videos allow retailers to clearly see products online by clicking, zooming and spinning. The dynamic interaction videos provide stylistic content of shoppable designer interviews and runway shows. The call-to-actions encourage a "see now, buy now" philosophy. Brands can also personalise and merchandise looks for virtual market appointments with the edit story board. This adjustable feature creates a bespoke experience for retailers looking to buy products.
Nu ORDER: B2B PLATFORM
Nu ORDER focusses on creating online B2B selling experiences that stand out. By partnering with retailers Nu ORDER provides sales teams and buyers a central place to shop in-season collections and visually plan assortments. Real time product data allows buyers to easily search for products and fill merchandising gaps. Like Le New Black, Nu ORDER features interaction video with an immersive 360 degree virtual showroom bringing products to life online. They also use shoppable video by tagging fashion content with products for easy online ordering. These videos can then be featured on brands ecommerce sites.
Through interaction video, immersive online experiences can be created for B2B trading and wholesale. 360 degree show rooms are a effective at bringing the offline, online. As a result, the future of wholesale and interactive video platforms looks bright.
- Mar 1, 2021
Updated: Mar 10, 2021
MAKING JEAN HUNTING SIMPLE WITH SHOPPABLE VIDEO
French, women's fashion brand, Promod, has mastered the art of video interaction with their new styling campaign:
Everyone knows the struggle of finding new jeans that are flattering and comfortable. With most retailers selling exclusively online, the task can be even harder. However, by using Smartzer's interactive video platform, Promod's video on their ecommerce site gives women the confidence to buy their perfect pair of jeans online.
In the shoppable video style advisor, Valerie, presents Promod's jeans and explains how to style them for multiple body types. The immersive, styling video honestly shows the clothes in action, giving the viewers all the information they need to make a purchase.
The interactive video brings all of the benefits of in-person shopping online with informative styling advice and easy product access direct from the video.
Execution:
Smartzer's interactive video platform allows brands like Promod to tag videos with products to make them shoppable. Items were tagged into the clickable overlay through the Smartzer Product Import feature. Following this, Smartzer helped to integrate the interaction video seamlessly into Promod's campaign landing page by customising the player to match the Promod onsite style. Viewers can now click on the products modeled by various women to choose their favourites from a group popup. The call-to-action "Je Fonce" or "I'm Going For It" takes customers to the product pages to find information or add to their basket.
Explore the campaign here!
Results:
The sleek and stylish interactive video generated an engagement rate of over 55% and a click-through-rate of over 10%. Clearly succeeding in grabbing the attention of the audience while driving customers further down the purchase funnel.
Conclusion:
Promod succeeded in making a creative and informative interactive video. By using Smartzer's interactive video platform to tag videos Promod recreated the offline customer service experience online. As a result, viewers could feel confident to buy their dream jeans online.
- Mar 1, 2021
Updated: Jun 15, 2021
STAY TUNED: FOR A LIVE STREAM SHOPPING TAKEOVER
With online shopping constantly evolving, streaming commerce is preparing to dominate the industry.
The Evolution of Streaming Commerce
Streaming commerce has been around for a while. Telly shopping channel, QVC, has been streaming since the 1980's! However, In the twenty-first century, brands are looking to make live shopping even more accessible to reach new audiences and boost sales.
Chinese streaming commerce giant, Taobao, is taking live shopping to new heights. With over 1 billion product listings as of 2016, the combined transaction volume of Taobao Marketplace and Tmall.com reached 3 trillion yuan in 2017, more than that of all US e-commerce sites combined. Chinese, livestream influencer, Viya, filmed with Kim Kardashian before singles day (similar to Black Friday) and managed to sell 150,000 bottles of perfume in seconds.
The sheer scale of revenue generated from live shops in China alone is enough to make any brand think seriously about optimising their content for streaming commerce in 2021. COVID 19 has accelerated this move.
Live Shopping Platforms
There are several ways in which brands can take their video content live. Here are some of the platforms that are hot on China's heels.
NTWRK: Exclusive Live Shop Drops
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. Viewers watch a series of live shows for product drops with the chance to get virtual tickets to enter a lottery-style system where they may win the opportunity to buy rare, one of a kind items. Streetwear is just a small category, with the site selling a variety of items like cookbooks, toys and artwork. The exclusivity of NTWRK's luxury fashion drops gives fans an exciting and personal experience with brands. By signing up to live shop events fans can buy products before anyone else.
Google Shoploop: Live Shopping Stories
Google Shoploop is a platform for discovering new beauty brands via streaming commerce. Viewers can watch tutorials from real people and shop the products straight from the video. While watching the 90 second demonstrations, viewers can save items to buy later or purchase straight away by clicking a call-to-action to be taken to the merchants ecommerce. Viewers can follow their favourite creators to keep up with the hottest trends. This is a great way for brands to stay connected with their fans.
Bambuser: Shoppable Live Broadcasts
Bambuser helps brands interact with thousands of customers through engaging, shoppable streaming commerce on their websites. 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.
Smartzer: Shoppable Video
Smartzers interactive video platform allows brands to create shoppable live events for their ecommerce. Every live shopping event features a product carousel alongside the stream. Here, viewers can select products demonstrated in the video and add to their basket, with the option to purchase without leaving the stream. Brands use Smartzer’s 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. After the ticketed event, brands can continue to show the streams on ecommerce sites to help turn views into qualified traffic.