Shoppable Videos: Everything You Need to Know to Get Started

Consumers are more heavily influenced by multimedia marketing nowadays. From the early days of basic product images, videos are now being leveraged, but not just as simple advertisements. From YouTube to streaming sites, it's this prominence that revolutionized videos to become "shoppable."

What are Shoppable Videos?

Shoppable videos feature products with embedded links to enable viewers to click on and learn more about them and eventually purchase if they want to do so immediately. All of these, without having to leave the video.

Shoppable videos are usually found on a business's landing page or social media. Apart from product information, reviews from customers, buying details, and contact details can also be viewed.

Brands can fully integrate the shopping process into their storytelling for a streamlined purchasing experience through shoppable videos. It's an innovative format that captures the prospect's immediate need or intent to buy and makes them more engaged and likely to convert.

Statistics and Figures on Videos and Shoppable Content

100 minutes daily

Estimated number of minutes people will spend watching videos online by the end of 2021

54% of customers

Want to see more videos from the brands they support

87% of marketers

Used video as a marketing strategy in 2019

Instagram, YouTube, and Facebook

The most commonly used platforms for video marketing

50% of internet users

watched videos related to a product or service they are considering before visiting the store
in 2017

33% of buyers

Purchased a product they discovered on YouTube

88% of marketers

Satisfied with their video marketing efforts on social media

80% of marketers

Content with their ROI for video ads

95% of marketers

Increased or maintained their current spending for video marketing in 2020

59% of marketers

Who previously did not use videos started doing so

$120 billion

Expected sales generated worldwide from livestreams

40% for 2020 from 33% in 2019

Increase in direct sales from marketers who turned to shoppable video ads

Integrating Shoppable Videos on E-commerce Stores

The way people shop has changed, but what influences purchasing decisions remains—reviews from past customers, referrals, and seeing and testing the actual product, to name a few.

Consumers are now also more conscious of their buying experience. They prefer a consistent omnichannel approach, and shoppable videos are essential in that cross-channel content strategy.

While videos are now a quintessential part of content marketing with their ability to engage customers, making them actionable is still challenging, which shoppable videos improved on.

According to HubSpot, videos are expected to gain more than 82% of consumer traffic by 2022. This

makes it all the more important for e-commerce stores to integrate the format into their strategy. One way to do this is through the "shoppertainment" route.

Brands can put up tutorials, how-tos, product demos, Q&As, and other forms of interactive video marketing. With this, viewers can also purchase the featured products instantly without leaving the video to go complete the transaction.

Through this improved native advertising strategy, e-commerce brands can drive conversions in a new way and, more importantly, create a seamless experience for customers that will allow them to stay ahead of the competition.

The Benefits of Shoppable Videos

Apart from the already mentioned, there are many other advantages to including shoppable videos for your content marketing strategy.

Less friction for a simplified purchasing process

Much like in-store purchases, people also undergo several steps when buying from online stores. Shoppable videos simplify the process by closing the gap between intent and purchase. The customer just needs to click the product and add it to the cart—no need to open another page or leave the video.

In addition, as videos can include products from different categories, the brand can showcase more of their offerings, and viewers can readily purchase them, too.

Entertainment value

Consumers don't always come out of retail shops with a bag on hand. Sometimes, the step of browsing the options is done merely for fun. With the online space brimming with entertaining content, it is only logical for brands to turn to shoppable videos to make purchasing equally fun on the web.

Aside from shoppable videos that combine entertainment and shopping opportunities, there's also influencer marketing, wherein followers take an interest in what their favorite online personalities buy or use minus the hard sell.

Customers are highly engaged

Aside from the entertainment value, shoppable videos are attention-grabbing for most consumers because of their visual format. However, once you have their attention, you now need to make them stay and engage with your content. Making interactive shoppable videos is one way to achieve this.

Engagement is necessary because only highly engaged prospects are more willing to convert, which is ultimately the point of making shoppable videos. Besides the entertainment factor, you can also use CTAs on your videos.

Increased conversions

Highly engaged users are more likely to purchase from the brand. It also helps that the opportunity to buy is readily available on a shoppable video. All they have to do is click the product they are interested in. Without having to open another page or close the video, the buying process is streamlined.

Opportunities for personalization

Personalization has been proven an effective way for brands to better interact and engage with their target market, and shoppable videos provide that opportunity. This interactive type of content gives consumers more control over which products they want to know more about, with the option to select which parts of the video they want to interact with.

Shoppable Video Platforms

Most of the platforms used for marketing and advertisements can already accommodate videos, though it is also true that specifications will differ. From livestreaming tools and in-video purchase options, here are some platforms brands can use for their shoppable videos.

Instagram

Instagram Shoppable Posts was released in 2018. It is a native integration that allows brands to tag a maximum of five products on their posts, whether image or video, and users to tap the products directly from the post to purchase without leaving the app. The business' account must first be approved for Instagram Shopping before it can enjoy this feature.

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YouTube

The video-sharing platform began accommodating shoppable videos in 2020. Through TrueView cards—or images of products included in the video along with shopping links—viewers will know which items are purchasable.

To utilize YouTube shoppable ads and videos, sync your ad with your Google Merchant Center. This will allow you to expand CTA buttons to featured items and product pages. Another shoppable video YouTube feature is the Video Action Campaign, which automatically brings video ads to the YouTube home feed, watch pages, and Google video partners.

Shoploop

Shoploop is an app from Google's Area 120 research division that introduces new products in 90 seconds or less. It uses videos to highlight different kinds of products, which viewers can either save to buy later or click to go to the merchant's website to purchase.

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Tiktok

In 2020, Tiktok launched shoppable video ads in partnership with Shopify. This enables Shopify merchants to create, run, and optimize Tiktok marketing campaigns including video ads from the Shopify dashboard. With the shoppable Tiktok ads, users can click the products tagged in the video, see the product details on Tiktok, and check out the product on the website without loading the browser or another app.

With Pinterest, you have two options on how to upload shoppable video content: through your brand’s account with buyable video pins or through an influencer’s account with creator pins where they have to tag the products included in the video.

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Creating Shoppable Videos

When it comes to big brands, all the advantages of live video selling mentioned above also apply, but live online sales bring yet a couple more advantages to the table.

Plan the items to appear on video

Preparing a concept can help you determine which of your products you want to appear on the video. A shot list may also come in handy.

Shoot and edit the video, as well as the necessary images

Shoot the video and edit it based on the concept you have come up with, but don't forget to take photos also. These images must be clear enough to show more information about the products customers may be looking for. It would also help to make the images more enticing.

Upload the completed video

Upload your shoppable video content on your platform of choice.

Add links to the items

Using your shoppable video software of choice, insert the links and hotspots that will become clickable in the final video. Some platforms may also allow you to do this.

Add the overlay

The overlay is what the viewers will see when they click the hotspot—product details, an option to add to cart, or any other action.

Publish and promote

Publish the video on the platform you prefer by making it visible to your audience. Aside from this, you can also incorporate the shoppable video into your website and landing pages, social media pages, or e-commerce sites. Keep in mind that all of these may require different specifications.

Best Practices for Creating Shoppable Videos

As you get into the process of making shoppable videos, keep these tips in mind so that you can create content that will meet your goals.

Notify that the video is interactive at the start

Let the viewers know at the beginning that they can interact with the video, whether through the slate, caption, or voiceover. To drive the point home, have a shoppable link within the first few seconds, so they have an opportunity to try early on.

Give the audience time to grasp the message

Let the shots run for at least 3 seconds at points where you want consumers to interact with the video. Give them the time to engage with the hotspot.

Focus only on a few items

Have three products at the most at every shot; do not overcrowd and give too many options. Put the products in full-frame so you can get the best interaction rates.

Have a clear CTA

Having the product names is important, but it's also vital to use a single call-to-action throughout the video for better conversions.

Be creative

Use your creativity to find more ways to interact and engage with the audience without making them feel like they're merely watching a commercial. For example, you can have a storyline that relates to your products and customers. Try out other formats as well.

Do A/B testing

As there aren't many case studies about shoppable videos yet, you will need to collect your own data. Do A/B testing, see what works, and use the results to improve your shoppable video strategies.

Monitor metrics

Knowing which hotspots are performing well can help you learn about the audience's preferences, allowing you to personalize your offerings further.

Shoppable Video Examples

Your goals, budget, brand persona, offerings, and nature of business will dictate what approach to take for your shoppable videos. Get inspired with these shoppable video samples.

Wayfair

Furniture and home goods retailer WayFair creates how-to content and DIY advice to engage its audience. Its shoppable videos on YouTube utilizes TrueView cards for its campaigns targeted towards viewers waiting to watch another video, with 74% of those viewers watching half of the ads.

Watch a video sample here

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United Colors of Benetton

After its 2020 Spring/Summer collection presentation at Milan Fashion Week, Benetton used footage from its runway shows and red carpet to create shoppable videos. As the models walked the runway, viewers could click hotspots to view individual pieces they were wearing. There's also a "Shop the video" button to browse the entire collection.

Watch the video here.

Miracle Eye

LA-based store Miracle Eye sells handmade clothes and vintage items. The brand started out with a "See more" CTA on its IG Stories to encourage followers to click or swipe up to visit the website. Small businesses that don't have an ample budget yet can use this swipe-up feature if they still don't have Instagram Shopping that allows product stickers or hotspots on stories.

Watch IG Stories here.

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Diesel

Italian retail clothing company Diesel celebrated their 30th anniversary in Tokyo with a shoppable video titled "Road to Tokyo." Icons were placed to showcase the clothes that the models/actors were wearing. When clicked, the viewer could either save the items on their "Look Book" or follow a link to buy them from Diesel's online store.

Watch the video here.

Neiman Marcus

The luxury department store partnered with KERV Interactive, Mastercard, and Vogue for a holiday-themed shoppable video. In "A Night at Neiman's," actress Taraji P. Henson gets locked in the store for a night and shopped around to pass the time.

A clickable "Shop Now" button encouraged viewers to browse or add the product to the cart throughout the video. Clicking the video also redirected them to the company's landing page, where the items featured were showcased. This boosted engagement, click-through rates, and interaction rates and provided object-level consumer insights for Neiman Marcus.

Watch the video here

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Try Flux Panda Shoppable Videos

Whether you're a start-up or have an established business looking to tap into the benefits of marketing videos, platforms like flux panda can help you out on your journey. As a shoppable video platform, you can do your product demos here to educate your audience on your offerings more interactively.

Schedule your live-selling, update your inventory, and go live directly from your browser—no need to install anything else. In addition, with flux panda, you can turn your recorded livestreams into shoppable content or record individual videos for every product you have and include those on your e-commerce store.

Contact us today to learn how you can leverage shoppable videos and other video content to improve the performance of your e-commerce site and app.

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