Shoppable video: the new frontier of retail and e-commerce

The shopping experience has undergone several stages of digital transformation in the past few decades, and it’s about to go through another. Shoppable video is the next stage for both retail and e-commerce, offering a smoother conversion path for customers to complete their next purchase.

In this blog, we’ll cover everything you need to know about shoppable video and the impact it’s going to have on the shopping experience for both consumers and the businesses that serve them.  

What is shoppable video?  

Shoppable videos are marketing videos which feature interactive elements that allow viewers to click on products they’re interested in and make purchases without leaving the page. Online videos reached an audience reach of 92% in 2023, which demonstrates how effectively this format could be used to attract new customers.

The key benefit that shoppable videos offer is an improved customer experience, as there are fewer steps for customers to complete a purchase. From the shopper’s perspective, these videos provide an integrated buying experience that allows them to browse products, see related products and the products being used in demonstrations. Think of shoppable videos like teleshopping but for the TikTok age.

Interactive shoppable videos offer a smoother customer experience compared to other methods of shopping online, such as through individual websites and their product pages. Online shopping can leave customers with the same feeling as trawling down the high street did to previous generations, which inevitably leads to basket abandonment. Product demonstrations and comparisons of related products through interactive shoppable videos can help customers make informed decisions quickly while avoiding fatigue and basket abandonment.

‍Shoppable video ads

It’s not only innovating the online shopping experience that shoppable videos can help with, but they can also be used within advertising. Today, most interactive video ads are limited to offering a clickable element that directs to an external page the viewer is redirected to. Interactive shoppable video ads can offer a pop-up within the video, where the user can complete the purchase.

‍Benefits of shoppable videos

‍Shoppable videos provide numerous benefits for businesses looking to create the ideal retail experience for customers online. When shopping moved online, the idea was to replicate and improve the in-person experience. Here are some the benefits that shoppable video provides.

‍Enhanced customer experience

Customer experience is central to any business when crafting the ideal online shopping experience. Shoppable video creates an experience that is engaging and frictionless, as videos offer a lot of information in a much more palatable format. They say a picture can paint a thousand words, now imagine what video can do.  

Improved conversion rate

‍Shoppable videos offer a frictionless purchase process for shoppers. It only takes a single click for a product to be added to a shopping basket, directly from the video. This avoids shoppers having to search for a link in the description of a video or having to search for the product through Google. 70% of TikTok users say it’s easy to purchase through shoppable videos on the social platform.

‍Inspiration and influence  

60% of shoppers say online video has given them inspiration for their next purchase, which demonstrates how much video can influence purchases. Shoppable videos offer a much more engaging way for consumers to shop online.  

These videos also play an important role in the decision-making process that leads up to a purchase. 80% of shoppers making a planned purchase watched a YouTube video related to the product at the start of the process.

‍Shoppable video examples  

Shoppable video has become increasingly popular in recent years, and this is partly due to necessity. The pandemic of recent years pushed brands to create increasingly immersive shopping experiences which could replicate the feeling of in-person shopping. Here are some examples of shoppable videos:  

TVSN  

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TVSN is Australia and New Zealand’s most popular TV shopping network. The network was looking to bring the teleshopping experience onto digital platforms, creating a shoppable video experience for customers on mobile, tablet and web. Think of a ‘shop the show’ experience, seamlessly integrated within the broadcast of infomercial programming. Simplestream provided the technology for TVSN to create a shoppable video experience on these devices.

The adaptation of teleshopping into a digital shoppable video format was achieved by using  graphic overlays that dynamically change – based on the metadata available for each piece of content part of the broadcast, and the interaction via QR codes, prompted on screen, to be accessed with a mobile device. This decreases the number of steps a shopper must take when purchasing a product, which increases the conversion rate and improves the customer experience. Naturally, a next step is represented by an even more interactive experience, made possible by innovative deeplinks added to the streamed content.

‍Ted Baker  

The British luxury fashion brand, Ted Baker, has been using shoppable video for several years. The most notable of the brand’s campaigns is the shoppable video advert produced by Guy Ritchie.  

The short film is in the style of a spy thriller that follows Ted Baker models racing against a villain who has stolen the fabrics for their latest collection. Shoppers could select the outfits worn by the characters to move them to their “vault”, which they could then purchase. Check out the film which has amassed 4.3 million views to date:  ‍

Ikea  

Ikea has been revolutionising the shopping experience since opening the doors to its first store in 1958.  

When creating a video ad for a marketing campaign centred on bedroom furnishing, Ikea opted for an interactive shoppable video. The ad features hotspots which viewers can click on to view and purchase the products featured in the video, all without leaving the player.

Conclusion  

The use of shoppable videos presents a transformative opportunity for retailers and e-commerce stores to boost revenue through heightened engagement. It doesn’t only apply to retailers, but could also surface live events (think of sports or music, for instance), with merchandise made available ‘on-screen’, for fans to purchase with a one-click operation.

By integrating product browsing and purchasing within interactive video content, brands can captivate their audience, streamline the shopping journey, and ultimately drive conversions. Through this innovative approach, retailers and ecommerce stores can not only enhance the customer experience but also significantly increase revenue by meeting consumers' expectations for seamless and immersive shopping experiences. Shoppable video represents the next step in the digital transformation of the shopping experience.

Interested in how shoppable video could increase revenue through immersive experiences? Find out how Simplestream can help.