eCommerce
Shoppable Video

What Is Shoppable Video? An Introduction to the Future of eCommerce

Shoppable Video is a rapidly growing trend in eCommerce that allows viewers to directly purchase products from within a video. In this article, we'll dive into what Shoppable Video is, how it works, and its potential impact on the eCommerce industry.

What is Shoppable Video?

While the term "Shoppable Video" held little meaning prior to 2022, Shoppable Video is quickly become the new kid on the block entering 2023.  So, what is it?  To answer this question, it's important to first understand the dramatic content shift we've seen on social apps over the past couple years, and the impact it's had on commerce.

With the rise of vertical, immersive video content across platforms like TikTok, Instagram Reels, and YouTube Shorts,  Gen-Z and now Gen-Alpha are consuming 20 hours of this content format, on average, weekly 👀.

Dominating the attention of the world's future consumers, this video trend forced eCommerce marketing strategies to adapt, and created the world today where 80% of DTC brands have short-form video content.  It's safe to assume that if you're a DTC brand not focused on short-form content today, you'll feel the effects of that decision in the near and long-term as your competition surpasses you in a newly video driven world.

Following this shift, it was inevitable for social platforms to bake in "on-platform" transactions.  This functionality allows consumers to purchase products in a frictionless way at the point of inspiration, and brands to capitalize on the distribution power the social platforms enable.  In 2023, you will now find hints of shopping capabilities across content on all platforms, even the newly released Amazon Inspire.

Social Video Commerce

Impact of Shoppable Video on eCommerce

Shoppable Video is a marketing format that combines video content with eCommerce functionality, allowing consumers to purchase products directly from a video.

With the growing adoption of video shopping across social platforms, Shoppable Video has become popular elsewhere in the buyers journey, including directly on brand websites.  There's a good reason for this, as studies show that video is now preferred to text and image by over 70% of consumers.  So why not use it to engage and sell consumers everywhere outside of social platforms too?

While historically it had been technically difficult to implement Shoppable Video experiences across normal web pages, easy-to-use eCommerce website platforms like Shopify have made this more approachable through their Shopify App Store ecosystem.

With app integrations like Novel, Shopify merchants can now quickly, easily, and affordably add Shoppable Video anywhere to their online stores, allowing customers to be inspired through the power of video and seamlessly purchase through an interactive content interface.  

So, why would Shopify brands want to include Shoppable Video on their websites?

5 reasons why eCommerce brands should use Shoppable Video:

  • Increased site engagement: Shoppable video allows customers to interact with products in a more engaging way. They can see products in use or in context, and easily purchase them at the point they are most engaged. This creates a more enjoyable shopping experience for the customer, increasing the likelihood of sustained attention and eventual purchase.  Visitor sessions typically increase by 200% after Shoppable Video is implemented.
  • Increased sales: There is no better format than video for visually showcasing, educating, and selling.  When implemented across an eCommerce website, Shoppable Video naturally pulls visitors in and converts them better, averaging a 1.5-3x higher rate than a normal image and text based website experience.
  • Better product representation: Shoppable Video allows businesses to showcase their products in a way that is more dynamic and visually appealing than traditional product images. This creates a more immersive shopping experience, helping customers to better understand and appreciate the products they are considering purchasing.
  • Direct content ROI: Shoppable Video Shopify Apps provide businesses with tools to track and analyze the direct and influenced product sales their Shoppable Video content. This allows brands to see what content is working and what is not, and to make adjustments to their strategy accordingly.  It also allows marketing teams to directly tie a return on investment to a specific piece of content, something that has been difficult to do in the past.
  • Evergreen content value: Brands spend thousands of dollars on video content that quickly looses its value in the 48hr value cycle across social media's content saturation environment.  Videos that run out of engagement on socials, may still be valuable conversion tools to be leveraged elsewhere.  Shoppable Video on websites extends the life of content efforts indefinitely.

In conclusion, Shoppable Video has become a rising star in the eCommerce world and for good reason:  it sits at the intersection of mobile, video, social, and shopping, four areas that dominate many aspects of our culture today.  It's clear why Shoppable Video technology has become a valuable tool for Shopify brands looking to increase engagement, sales, and brand exposure. With its ease of use, dynamic content and product representation, and tracking and analysis tools, Shoppable Video is turning into a must-have for eCommerce businesses looking to take their web experiences to the next level.

Sources:

TikTok Ecommerce 101: Why Your Business Should Be on TikTok

Consumer Video Trends

Everything you need to know about Youtube Shorts

Schedule a Demo

Thank you! Your submission has been received!
Oops! Something went wrong while submitting the form.