Video commerce is a new broad term for video formats that enable shopping in some form or another. Video commerce offers convenience and instant access to more information for consumers. This perfectly responds to current consumer expectations of having easy single click access to information. Video commerce is now adopted widely across industries from the retail sector to publishers and agencies. These shoppable video formats are used to convert regular content into high impact formats that offer a seamless customer experience and provide a large number of new data points about video interactions and performance.
Shoppable video
Shoppable videos are most often seen in the form of shoppable campaign videos. However, these can cover a broad range of video from influencer content to product reviews and fashion shows. Shoppable videos make it possible to discover product details for items featured in the video simply by clicking on them. Some formats have a simpler functionality of showcasing associated products alongside the video. In both cases, the viewer is able to see additional product details which typically includes images, pricing, brand details, colour and size variations and the ability to either click through to the product page or to add the item to their shopping cart. By simplifying the purchasing funnel, shoppable ads have significantly increased global conversions, with a usage growth of 76%.
Live shopping
Live shopping, live selling or live commerce are the most common terms used to describe an experience which includes a live stream video combined with the ability to discover more about the shoppable products, to ask questions from the presenters and send social actions such as likes. This trend skyrocketed in 2020 from China and has since then taken hold of the rest of the world. In China live commerce is set to account for a whopping quarter of all online sales in 2023. During a survey conducted in Poland, Spain, France, and the United Kingdom in 2020, more than 40 percent of consumers expressed interest in buying electronics during live streams on e-commerce sites or apps. In addition, 34 percent of European shoppers said they would be interested in fashion shopping via social media live streaming. While China is the cradle of live commerce, western countries are slowly catching up. According to a 2022 survey, more than a third of U.S. shoppers had heard of live streaming shopping events with 20 percent of respondents saying they had taken part in them. Despite having the same level of awareness, the usage rate in Denmark was slightly higher, with 24 percent of respondents participating in live shopping.
Shoppable short form videos
Short form videos are hugely popular across social media through formats including Instagram Reels, Stories and TikTok videos. These are videos that range from a few seconds to 60 seconds long and feature up to a few different products. As of July 2022, videos that are under 60 seconds made up 57% of YouTube views, compared to just 11% two years ago. 73% of consumers prefer to watch a short-form video to learn about a product or service.
The challenge with short form videos on social media if their extremely short life span and limited relevant audiences. It has been estimated that about 2-3% of any brand’s customer base sees their content on social media. Given the investment in this type of content, brands are now adopting technologies to extend the use of these videos from social media to adding them on their ecommerce site in a shoppable format. A new form of video commerce in the form of shoppable short form videos on ecommerce site is gaining popularity. These experiences are typically simplified shoppable video formats that have the main video typically in a vertical format adapted from social media combined with simple product cards that can be expanded for additional details and shopping.
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