Nowadays, people watch more videos than ever before. We all follow our favorite YouTube channels, spend hours in Netflix, and post stories on Instagram. Video content has indeed conquered a significant part of the Internet and continues winning billions of users’ hearts. According to Statista, nearly 85 percent of US users watch online videos on a regular basis and this figure is even higher for such countries as China, New Zealand, Australia, and Spain.
What does this mean for e-commerce businesses? Well, online videos should undoubtedly become a must-have component of content marketing campaigns for every retailer. Statistics show that about 90 percent of buyers said product videos help them make shopping decisions. However, just posting a promo video on a website or social media is usually not enough. To bring real value to your business and increase the revenue, video content should be properly exploited.
In this article, we will discuss the role of video shopping experiences in today’s buying process. We’ll also provide you with some recommendations on how you can take the most out of your advertising video clips right away. But let’s start from the numbers so you can capture the big picture.
Video & online shopping: key statistics
Increasing demand for video content
It’s not a secret that most people prefer watching videos to reading text. And the growing popularity of YouTube, Snapchat, Instagram, etc. made Internet users even more accustomed to perceiving information via this type of content. Such a situation naturally led to the rise of customer expectations.
According to HubSpot, nearly 54 percent of customers would like to see more videos posted by brands they support. On top of that, about 68 percent of people consider short videos the best way to learn about new products.
New industry standard
A competition becomes tougher and, thus, keeping up with trends is vital for every business. Study shows that 87 percent of marketers use video content for marketing purposes. And it’s no wonder since the results speak for themselves. For instance, Forbes reports that users stay on a website 88 percent longer if it contains videos. And when it comes to email marketing, video content is helpful as well. Mentioning the word “video” in a subject line increases the open rate by 19 percent.
Millennials shopping habits
Nowadays, a generation of millennials constitutes a significant part of buyers (about 80 million in the US alone) and most of them (67 percent) prefer to shop online. Hence, digital content becomes a powerful tool for attracting new customers and videos are an important part of the whole process.
Nearly 80 percent of millennials watch videos with product reviews before making a purchase. Moreover, about 67 percent of them believe that they can find any information they need on YouTube. This practically means that if your products are not shown in any videos, they do not exist for this audience.
Effective conversion
Different studies on video marketing show that most customers (64 percent) are more likely to buy a particular product if they watched a video featuring it. On top of that, about 84 percent of people purchased something on the Internet after watching a product video. The above numbers are indeed impressive. But what’s more important is that they perfectly show how your success as an online retailer depends on a customer’s video shopping experience.
Market vibes: easy purchases driven by videos
Now, it’s time to move towards more practical aspects of delivering an outstanding video shopping experience. As mentioned, having lots of nice video content is great and it will certainly bring you some positive results. However, the video shopping experience is not limited to just traditional watching some video clips and then buying relevant products.
Both present and future of video commerce lie in the consumer interaction with a brand via such video clips. So let’s look at what’s happening on the market.
Amazon
A few months ago, Amazon launched Amazon Live (available at Amazon.com/Live). Basically, it’s a channel for streaming live videos that feature products being sold on Amazon. Users can switch between different video streams per their preferences. There is also a carousel right beneath a video. So buyers can learn more about the products featured in such video and make a purchase right away.
Facebook & Instagram
Facebook is also about to offer online merchants a new video shopping service. It will allow customers to screenshot a product shown in the video which they want to buy and send an image to a retailer via messenger. Instagram doesn’t lag behind either. Like Facebook, it plans to introduce new features for online retailers. Such features will let users buy products from video posts by just tapping a button below such posts.
So the tendency is clear: Internet merchants are searching for the ways to close the gap between a moment of watching a video and a moment of buying items. But you probably wonder if there are any tools you can implement in your e-commerce store today to improve the video shopping experience. The answer is “Yes”. And we’ll cover this next.
Shoppable video: a new ‘game changer’
Shoppable videos are an emerging trend in content marketing. Although this innovative tool has been around for a while, it started gaining the attention of a wide audience (both sellers and buyers) only a year or two ago. So if you haven’t heard about shoppable videos yet, don’t panic. We’ll sort things out for you.
Simply put, a video is referred to as “shoppable” if it allows its viewers to purchase items featured in it during video play. For instance, let’s say you are browsing the Internet to find new running sneakers and discover a promotional video featuring sports shoes. You tap the “play” button and see that a runner in the commercial is wearing exactly what you’re looking for.
If it was a regular video, you would have to go back to your search and try to find the model you need in the online store. But the process will be much simpler with shoppable videos. You will just need to click on the embedded link inside of the video (plus button, shopping cart icon, etc.) and it’ll direct you to the check-out page where you can complete your purchase. As simple as that.
How to add a shoppable video to your online store
Basically, there are two options. Let’s briefly discuss each of them for you to make a sound decision.
Custom development
The first option is to develop a custom tool with relevant functionality. The advantage is that such tool will be tailored to your specific online store. At the same time, the process will likely be lengthy and require significant upfront investments. On top of that, there is no 100% guarantee that you’ll receive exactly what you expect to receive within a set deadline. This is because the ultimate results of a project will heavily depend on many factors such as your coding team, developers’ expertise, project management methodology, etc.
DUZY tv’s patented solution
If you are looking for a simple and budget-friendly yet working solution, you can opt for a ready-made technology like DUZY tv. Its patented solution may be quickly and easily integrated with most e-commerce platforms. Another benefit is that there are no upfront fees since DUZY tv charges payment (i.e. a minor share from the price of a purchased item) only for the closed transactions. In addition, DUZY tv’s patented solution is a risk-free option, meaning that you can see how it works from the moment you register and upload your first video.
How does DUZY tv work?
Using DUZY tv platform requires no technical background — everything is simple and straightforward. In addition, the service offers great customer support – a DUZY tv support team will give you a hand in case some questions still occur. But let’s get back to the process.
Registration and connecting to your store
At the first stage, a user has to register in order to create an account. As usual, the system will ask you to provide an email address and a password. After you log in to the platform, you’ll have an opportunity to connect your online store to DUZY tv. Once you do that, you’ll be able to create your first shoppable video by uploading a regular video and selecting relevant products (i.e. those items which are related to the video) from the list. Normally, the whole process takes no more than a few minutes.
It’s worth mentioning that you don’t have to repeat all the steps every time you are out of a particular product shown in the shoppable video. As the store is connected to the platform, all information will be updated in real time. This means that items which are not available at a particular moment will be marked as “out of stock”.
Using and sharing
So what do you get in a result? Your output video will have an additional (so-called “transactional”) layer. Such a layer will allow viewers to buy products they like while still enjoying the video. Customers don’t even need to leave the player in order to make a purchase. And they can continue watching the video after such a purchase is complete.
Besides uploading a shoppable video to your website, you can also share it via social media channels or use within an email marketing campaign.
How DUZY tv improves the video shopping experience
It goes without saying that shoppable video is a cool, innovative, and even a futuristic technology. However, the greatest thing about this type of interactive content is that it really makes customers’ life easier. Here’s how:
Product information
Video content allows retailers to convey a large amount of information about items they sell in just a few minutes. Hence, it helps customers make a more informed shopping decision without spending too much time on research.
Simplified buying process
In today’s fast-paced world, time is money. We all appreciate things that help us perform routine tasks quickly and effortlessly. Shoppable videos let viewers make a purchase in just a few seconds after they decided to buy a specific product. And this is a huge advantage for every busy person.
Reduced frustration
With a DUZY tv’s patented solution, customers don’t have to go through a myriad of redirects to get an item they want. As already mentioned, they can read the product information and complete a purchase without even leaving a player.
Closer connection with a brand
The modern world is full of similar products and, in most cases, people have a wide choice of goods. That’s why when making shopping decisions, they usually consider not only typical criteria like price and quality but also their attitude toward a brand. Shoppable videos make people feel more cared for and this bridge the distance between the business and the customers.
Benefits you get by using DUZY tv
It’s pretty obvious that when shoppers get a delightful video shopping experience, a retailer wins as well. Here are the main benefits associated with using interactive videos that are created with a DUZY tv’s patented solution:
Conversion rate
Shoppable videos significantly increase the conversion rate and, as a result, boost sales. Basically, there are two main reasons for that. First of all, they provide shoppers with an opportunity to satisfy their shopping desire at the most suitable moment — when they are inspired by a video. And secondly, with interactive videos, the path from making shopping decision to taking action is shorter.
Brand loyalty
People tend to return to brands which deliver a pleasant customer experience. By using shoppable videos, an online store has a chance to get more repeat visits and purchases.
Advanced analytics
With DUZY tv’s patented solution, you’ll have an opportunity to monitor performance data of your online store and get valuable insights on customer behavior. On top of that, the platform can be easily integrated with third-party analytics tools.
Putting it all together
Videos have always been an effective content marketing tool but today their impact on shoppers’ decision-making process is indeed huge. Yet, to deliver an outstanding video shopping experience, online retailers not only need to create an engaging story and beautiful motion picture. They also have to think about the way customers will interact with a brand through a video. One of the most efficient options available today is shoppable videos. DUZY tv’s patented solution allows you to create such videos in just a few minutes without any advance payments. As a result, you’ll get an improved conversion rate, higher revenue, and stronger brand loyalty.
What to get your online retail business to the next level with DUZY tv interactive videos? Register now!
Published with StoryChief
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