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.
- Mar 11, 2021
Updated: Sep 7, 2021
Interactive videos can used within content marketing strategies to create immersive and clickable promotional material.
Interactive video engages a viewer, resulting in longer viewing time. Viewers may be able to click on areas of the video to learn more about a product and may even be able to purchase it straight from the shoppable video. Brands can track every interaction that is made within the video, leading to a better understanding of their consumer. Viewers are turned into qualified traffic towards E-commerce sites and as a result, the path to purchase is shortened. 88% of marketers say at least 10% of their content will be interactive in the next two years.
With 300 hours of videos added to YouTube every minute and 500 million people using Instagram stories daily, it is important for brands to be heard above the online noise. So, if you are looking for inspiration for your next campaign, here are our top ten brand examples of interactive video:
1. Quizzes: Personicom X Vyond
Personicom's interaction video allows the viewer to input their details to receive personalised life insurance offers based on their preferences. The cartoon character guides the consumer through the process, turning the mundane activity of shopping for life insurance into an immersive, engaging and easy to understand experience.
2. Shoppable Video: IKEA X WIREWAX
In this video, IKEA turns everyday activities into a David Attenborough style documentary. Throughout the shoppable video the viewer can hover over IKEA's homeware products to view more information and then "shop now" by clicking the call-to-action. This will then direct the viewer to the brands ecommerce to make a purchase. If not, they can return to their previous place in the interactive video to continue the experience.
3. Interactive Social Media Content: VW Golf X Smartzer
Volkswagen and Smartzer joined forces to create interaction videos on Instagram stories and through in feed ads. Smartzer's interactive video platform allowed the brand to create an exciting and dynamic video of the car. Viewers were able to explore areas of the vehicle by selecting each part in the clickable side bar. A call-to-action encouraged consumers to "book a test drive". The ad was highly effective, encouraging a 62% engagement rate and a 27% CTR.
4. Digital Wholesale/ Virtual Showrooms: Le New Black X Kenzo
By partnering with interactive, digital wholesaler, Le New Black, Kenzo was able to create a digital showroom. The brand highlighted their new collection online, when in-person showrooms were prohibited due to the pandemic. Le New Black allows brands to exhibit their products in a 360 degree showroom. So, retailers can zoom, spin, swipe items to view them in detail online. The B2B use of interactive and shoppable video is proving to be highly effective and will no doubt increase over the next years.
5. Interactive, Shoppable Livestream: Walmart
In December 2020, Walmart took to TikTok to launch a shoppable livestream featuring their favourite fashion pieces for Christmas. Viewers could buy the products by clicking product pins and adding them to their cart. A mobile check out would appear at the end of the stream for viewers to complete purchases. The experience was so popular that Walmart is recreating this experience at 9am US time on 11 March 2021 on TikTok. The interactive live stream will be a beauty tutorial lasting 60 minutes, featuring brands like L'Oréal, Maybelline, NYX and Marc Jacobs. Host, Gaby Morrison, will broadcast to her 3.5 million followers on the platform.
6. Customisable Video: Nike Air Max DIA X WIREWAX
When it comes to interaction videos, customisability and personalisation can be the most fun and exciting activity to engage with. Here, viewers can choose their own advert for a photoshoot. The stylist talks the viewer through each product and gives a clear representation of how the clothes may look in real life. The fresh take on style advising helps to bring the offline shopping experience, online.
7. Interactive Travel Videos: Amazing Thailand X Smartzer
Smarter and Amazing Thailand partnered to make this interactive travel video. The interactive areas of the video tell the viewer more about attractions in Thailand and show a realistic and beautiful portrayal of the country. Using a wide range of content Smartzer tagged different experiences, spa & wellness possibilities, hotels, luxury tour packages and some culinary must-go places, which a viewer can explore from the comfort of their own home by clicking on the video.
8. Gamified Experience: LIFESAVER Interactive film by Martin Piercy
This promotional ad for LIFESAVER provides the viewer with scenario based options. The viewer can learn how to save a life by making decisions that affect the stories outcome. The video shows the consumer how to do CPR correctly to save a life.
9. Interactive Livestream: Burberry X Twitch
Achieving 32,000 concurrent views, Burberry took their SS21 fashion show live using Amazon owned streaming service, Twitch. Viewers were given a front row seat to the show from their living rooms, a rare opportunity for many fashion fans. The inclusive stream allowed viewers to discuss the show in a chat room with guest appearances from celebrities like Bella Hadid and Erykah Badu. The community feel generated by livestream made viewers feel connected to the brand and immersed them in a unique online experience.
10. Decide Your Destiny: Netflix's Blackmirror: Bandersnatch
This unique episode of Blackmirror allowed viewers to make decisions for the protagonist to essentially choose whether he lives, dies, succeeds or fails. The interaction video had a possible 35 endings. However, producer, Charlie Brooker, said there could possibly be more and had lost track of how many possibilities there could be for the viewer.
Summary
All of these examples use interactive video platforms to the best of their ability successfully engaging and astounding the viewer. The thrilling content creates a user experience like no other that stays in the mind of the consumer. If brands can successfully harness this technology now, anything could be possible for video content marketing in the future.
Interactive video has proven to be an effective and key tool for marketeers. In fact, video interactivity can increase viewer engagement by 3-4 x more than standard, linear video.
So, it is no wonder that advertising agencies are looking to seize shoppable tech to upscale what they can offer brands.
What is shoppable and interactive video?
Interactive videos encourage user involvement. They have clickable, tagged areas called "hotspots" that the viewer can interact with. Brands tag videos with product information or links to ecommerce to make them shoppable. Viewers may even be able to make a purchase within the ad. Video interactivity might also be encouraged via 360 degree exploration tech, quizzes, livestream, chatbots, calls-to-action and many more.
What is an interactive agency?
An agency offering a mix of Web design/development, Internet advertising/marketing, or E-Business/E-Commerce consulting. An interactive agency can help brands design and implement SEO strategies, create articles for online publications and many more.
How can agencies use shoppable and interactive video formats?
Shoppable and interactive video platforms can step up standard formats used by agencies. For example:
Interactive/shoppable video display ads
Display ads are hugely popular and common with brands. Typically display ads are placed on third party websites in the form of banners, images and text. Here is an example of interactive video display ads with Volkswagen. Viewers could type a command and the car would perform the action. The interactive banner ad makes viewers less likely to ignore it. The fun and engaging experience is memorable for the viewer, making them more likely to consider the product for potential purchase. By partnering with interactive video platforms, agencies can offer brands an exciting ad format like no other.
Interactive/shoppable video ads across social media
With 3.5 billion social media users world wide, agencies should optimise their strategies for platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, Pinterest, Snapchat, YouTube and more. Interactive video ads are a great way to stop scrollers in their step. Take Wish.com on Snapchat for example:
Users could shop the items in a carousel below the video. Wish reported that their interactive and shoppable videos encouraged 17 x more engagement than their regular Snapchat ads.
Interactive/shoppable video based pre-roll ads
A pre-roll ad is a promotional video which appears before the video that the user has selected to play. Interactive video can do wonders for pre-roll ads as users are often made to watch them before streaming video on platforms like YouTube. Here is a YouTube pre-roll ad from Boursin that supports video interactivity through a 360 virtual reality experience:
The ad immerses a viewer by taking them on a journey through fridge packed with fresh produce. The explorative aspect encourages the viewer to watch until the very end, without the activity a viewer would be more likely to skip the ad. The experience is fun and memorable and will leave the viewer craving Boursin cheese. Agencies could partner with interactive video platforms like WIREWAX and Smartzer to help their clients create engaging and unique promotional content.
Interactive/shoppable video based Outstream ads
An Outstream ad is an ad shown within paragraphs of text on a website. They are typically without sound until the user hovers or clicks over the video. Here is an example of a flip-book style outstream ad with M&S and NEXD advertising:
The ad is formatted like an interactive catalogue that users can scroll through. The peeled corner introduces a sense of curiosity in the reader, encouraging engagement through the interactivity. By using ad agency NEXD, M&S was able to create a unique and interesting advert which generated a 20% CTR.
Interactivity encouraged through call-to-action
By using interactive video platforms, agencies can help brands tag videos with clickable calls-to-action to encourage higher CTR and engagement. Smartzer's platform allows users to create an interactive overlay by tagging product info to hotspots. This can be via Product APIs, Product Feed, URL's, images, text or manually. Here is an example of Smartzer's partnership with Volkswagen to create a clickable and informative video ad:
Viewers were able to click on the video to display a clickable carousel that would inform them on various aspects of the car. Smartzer also partnered with agency, Inskin to develop effective interactive video banner ads for the new Volkswagen Golf model. The "book a test drive" call-to-action was a simplistic way of encouraging brand engagement as the ad generated a 62% engagement rate and a 27% CTR.
Shoppable call-to-actions
Videos can be made shoppable by creating clickable hotspots. Here is an example of Rituals partnership with WIREWAX on a shoppable video:
The "click to shop" call-to-action entices the viewer to view the products in more detail. Once clicked, the product info is displayed and a "shop now" call-to-action shows, taking the viewer to the brands ecommerce to complete the purchase. WIREWAX's interactive, shoppable videos are 32% more memorable than standard video.
Call-to-actions may present themselves as "install now", "learn more", "sign up to mailing list", "visit Instagram" and more.
Trackability
Interactive and shoppable video is easy to measure and track. Every interaction that occurs within the video is reported back to the brand and they can clearly see performance data from their content.
Summary
Interactive and shoppable videos are key tools that agencies should consider implementing into their advertising strategies. Despite all the demonstrated benefits, agencies are still slow to do this. Shoppable advertising doesn't suit all advertisers as it is usually an expensive format to use. However, for retailers like Which.com, M&S and Rituals, shoppable video can suit their objectives and drive conversions. For auto brands like Volkswagen, interactive is used for effective product discovery. At the end of the day, it is unlikely that someone will see a car ad online and instantly "buy now", but they might "book a test drive".
Additionally, a lot of advertiser like to use existing non-shoppable content and make it interactive. This can work, but often to get the most out of the tech, advertisers should create content with shoppability in mind.
In an interview, Smartzer founder, Karoline Gross, explained that often when interactivity is used many advertisers fail to make full use of the data her company feeds back to them. Advertisers may be put off by any negative feedback that they see. She said, "There's probably a reason why a lot of advertising channels only report things like impressions. But if we want more impactful and relevant advertising, the only way we can really get there is by looking at these numbers, even if they're not always great to look at!"