Shoppable videos: What's behind this trend?
Inspire, click, buy: Shoppable clips as part of shoppable content
Shopping has evolved in recent years - and not just because shoppers are increasingly buying online: The media retailers use to present their products and put them up for sale are also evolving. Shoptainment - the mix of shopping and entertainment - characterizes the current world of e-commerce. A new implementation of this concept is shoppable videos as part of shoppable content.
Shoppable videos: Short clips for story telling
Moving images are among the most consumed content online: In 2022, users each watched more than half an hour of video per day online. Instagram Reels and TikTok are fueling this trend and are particularly popular with Gen Z. Shoppable videos (also called shoppable clips) cater to this consumer preference. The interactive videos offer viewers the opportunity to discover, select and purchase products or services directly while watching. Combining elements of e-commerce with visual storytelling, the clips offer customers a seamless way to make a purchase without leaving the video environment.
While shoppable clips have enjoyed great popularity in Asia for quite some time, they are slowly arriving on the European market as well.
Perfect combination of information and interaction: This is how shoppable videos work
Shoppable clips are classic videos - for example, excerpts from recordings of live shopping events or clips specially created by employees, creators and influencers - that revolve around a retailer's products. In Europe, IKEA, Nike and REVLON have been showing for some time how to turn a video into something more, and this trend is also spilling over into the German market: Douglas has been using videos with buying potential for some time now, making it a pioneer in this country when it comes to shoppable clips.
The special feature of Shoppable Videos is that the products in the video are directly linked and tagged. By means of interactive elements such as clickable hotspots, viewers can take a closer look at the items and add them to their shopping cart. In addition, retailers and brands have the opportunity to display information and details about the products during the broadcast and provide information about prices, availability and more.
Seamless customer experience: The goal of shoppable clips
The goal of Shoppable Videos is not to interrupt the user experience and to shorten the path to purchase for users. With success: Thanks to interactivity and the option of direct purchase, it is possible to increase the conversion rate by up to 30 percent. The technology of the shoppable clips can also be transferred to other formats and media.
Shoppable videos as part of shoppable content
Have you ever heard of shoppable content? Shoppable content or shoppable media includes any type of content that enables users to make a direct purchase of an object shown. In this way, content marketing and e-commerce flow into each other and ensure not only stronger customer loyalty, but also more sales.
Shoppable videos are a prime example of shoppable content, offering users not only inspiration but also the opportunity to buy the featured product with just a few clicks.
Advantages of shoppable content and shoppable media
Seamlessly transitioning from marketing to sales, companies are using shoppable videos on their platform to showcase products in an authentic and engaging way through storytelling. This type of presentation goes beyond traditional online shopping and advertising formats. While the clips were initially used primarily in the fashion sector, they are now also winning over users in industries such as cosmetics and electronics.
Shoppable content is becoming increasingly popular with viewers, especially in social media such as Instagram, web stores, and on company homepages. The concept offers retailers and brands a number of advantages:
- Merchants can embed the clips in a variety of places for marketing purposes - including in newsletters or on article pages, for example.
- Shoppable videos create a seamless and frictionless user experience.
- The interactive elements in the clips encourage engagement.
- Products can be presented comprehensively and with practical relevance.
- The process from the discovery of a product to the purchase decision is shortened.
- The performance of Shoppable Videos is easily measurable and facilitates the analysis and optimization of sales strategies.
- There are additional opportunities for cross-selling and upselling.
- Informative and entertaining content that simultaneously showcases the brand strengthens customer loyalty.
- Shoppable videos are an innovative way to stand out and reinforce a customer-centric brand image.
- The clips are easy to share on social media, resulting in a wider reach.
- Shoppable videos are more efficient in terms of cost and effort than comparable measures such as live shopping events.
- At the same time, they are an optimal complement to live shopping and an extension of live commerce.
Would you like to learn more about Live Shopping?
Then take a look at our free whitepaper "Live Shopping - from tech trend to sales channel of the future".
Shoppable videos as first step towards video commerce
One aspect in particular makes Shoppable Clips a tool with a future: the mix of video and interactivity appeals especially to young shoppers from Gen Z, as it matches their habits and behavior when it comes to shopping and media consumption. This is one of the reasons why shoppable content is a good way for retailers, companies and brands to get started with video commerce.
Tip: Instead of producing new material at great expense and directly staging your own live show, you can add interactive functions to existing videos to get you started with video commerce step by step.
Particularly in combination with live shopping, the potential of shoppable media can then be exploited step by step over time - and a supposed trend can be transformed into a permanently reliable sales channel with high sales opportunities.
To implement Shoppable Videos optimally, you need reliable technology in the background: OSP supports you in the design and development of your own platform for e-commerce and online trade.
