When marketing your brand, everyone knows it is important to share the most relevant content.
This year we have seen the rise of shoppable technology within video content marketing. Live stream shopping events have taken the world by storm, allowing brands to step up when bricks and mortar stores were closed.
The highly engaging, clickable videos allow viewers to play a role in the content with direct links to products encouraging customers to take immediate action to purchase. In fact, MAGNA research indicates that people spend almost 50% more time engaging with interactive videos, and shoppable videos boost up purchase intent ninefold.
Inside Retail notes, one company tracked its shoppable video metrics and discovered that 41% of the people who watched its videos dropped something in their virtual shopping online carts.
It is clear that interactive video technology is extremely effective for brands. Here are some of the best practices we've seen emerge in 2021.
Shoppable video sharing on social media
Using social media to boost brand awareness is key to maintain a strong customer following. With so much content posted across social platforms every second, businesses are starting to realise the benefits of using interactive video to stand out from the crowd.
By linking to shoppable video players in stories, posts and as a link in bio, brands can pull in a customer from a sea of content. The interactive elements encourage the viewer to stay longer in the content, informing them quickly about a product and providing them with a direct link to purchase. This pushes the viewer quickly down the shopping funnel.
Here is a stunning example of shoppable and interactive video used on social media:
By using social media to market their shoppable live stream, Clarks managed to draw an audience to their live shop event by swiping up on an Instagram story. By selling products online in real time, brands can replicate the benefits of in-person shopping digitally.
Shoppable video content embedded on Ecommerce
Embedding shoppable content on Ecommerce landing pages can elevate the viewers shopping experience and introduce them to a range of new products. Why not take your site visitor straight to information using a dynamic, engaging and exciting video to turn them from uninformed to informed traffic.
This year, we have seen plenty of brands embark on the shoppable trend with content on Ecommerce. Check out Zimmermann's gorgeous example:
Viewers can explore entire campaigns in 360 degrees, getting a clear overview of how the products would look in real life. The interactive video breathes life into the shopping experience, elevating video to be entirely viewer inclusive and highly memorable.
Shoppable Ad Units
Even advertising has been given the shoppable face lift this year. More and more brands are moving towards entirely interactive video ads, incorporating clickable content into campaigns. Interactive and clickable ad units push viewers to stop and notice brand content instead of just scrolling past. Check out this example from Volkswagen and Inskin:
Shoppable ad units stand out to the viewer. This example is unmissable and draws the viewer in straight away. The viewer could click the video to explore aspects of the car in more detail making for a unique, informative experience.
The future of shopping is now; Coresight has identified live shopping as one of the most influential global commerce trends of this year, showing no signs of slowing, and this year's 10.10 Shopping Festival is centred around this phenomenon.
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! The Smartzer platform will be used by global brands to kickstart their shoppable live stream journeys, and to accelerate US consumer adoption of the format that has become a global phenomenon over the past few years.
Deborah Weinswig, CEO and Founder of Coresight Research, said, “Livestream shopping has grown from a zero to a $300 billion industry in China in a very short period of time. We are very confident that the US market will reach what we are seeing in China, and the 10.10 Shopping Festival will enable retailers and brands to test and learn and grow this commerce segment. Compared to 2020, Coresight Research estimates that livestreaming e-commerce penetration in the US will more than triple by 2023, representing huge growth potential.”
The inspiration behind the festival this year is accelerating US consumer adoption of livestreaming. Livestream platforms boast superior consumer engagement and significantly reduced return rates versus ecommerce generally, providing retailers with significant opportunities for enhanced ROI, CTR & conversions. According to a Coresight Research survey, 39.7% of consumers shop in livestreams for an exclusive deal, 38.2% to discover new products, 36.6% to learn more about new products, and lastly 30.7% because the buying is exciting.
“We are incredibly excited to be part of the 10.10 event, giving brands and retailers access to Smartzer's live shopping technology,” stated Karoline Gross, Founder and CEO of Smartzer. “We are very interested to see how different brands and retailers in the US will approach shoppable livestream content throughout the event, following the huge success of the format in China—where nearly 15% of all online sales now come from live shopping. Results from live shopping in other markets are already showing engagement rates of up to 75%, strongly suggesting that this format will become core to e-commerce.”
Retailers such as Macy's, Guess, Vera Langley, Neighborhood Goods and many others are taking part in the event, that will be spearheading the adoption of livestream shopping as a mainstream form of commerce in the US. Technologies like Smartzer are enabling the future of shopping to be accessible to many brands of different sizes; unlocking additional revenue and making video content work harder.
If you would like to learn more about Smartzer, book in a demo here!
The Luxury Retailer Used Smartzer's Interactive Video Platform to Create a Stunning Campaign Video for the Hottest AW21 Drops From Top Brands.
With Autumn upon us, Brown Thomas used the beauty of shoppable video to direct customers towards fresh, on-trend luxury styles for the new season. The luxury retailer has used Smartzer's interactive video platform plenty of times in the past, demonstrating exactly why brands should learn from their shoppable examples.
EXECUTION
The immersive campaign video follows a variety of models across the coast and countryside wearing the sleekest pieces from top designer brands. Viewers could click the video to bring up shoppable popups with multiple products featured in the models look. The customer could then click through to the product page to 'Shop Now'. The shoppable, browsable side carousel allows viewers to scroll through all the featured products without pausing the video. This content quickly introduces the viewer to new items and pushes them quickly down the path to purchase via direct links.
RESULTS
Brown Thomas used video interactivity to create a video that resulted in the following features:
Interactive video overlay with clickable product hotspots
Group popup with look images and links to all of the featured products
Shoppable side carousel with all of the featured looks
CTA image cue to notify the viewer that the video is shoppable
Replay screen with shoppable carousel to give the viewer a final chance to buy
Seamless landing page integration matching the style and font of the Brown Thomas website
CONCLUSION
Using an interactive video on an Ecommerce landing page can elevate the customers shopping experience. The direct links to products makes it easy to discover new items and add them straight to the bag. The dynamic, 360 degree format of video means that the viewer can see the pieces in action to get a clear view of how they may look in real life. As a result, interactive video content can give customers the confidence to buy.