In today’s fast-paced digital world, customers want exciting and smooth shopping experiences. One big change in online shopping is the shoppable video platform. By adding interactive features to videos, businesses can create engaging shopping experiences that attract viewers and increase sales. This guide will explore what these platforms are, their benefits, and how to use them effectively.
What is a Shoppable Video Platform?
Social media apps like Instagram and TikTok have trained Gen Z and late Millennial shoppers to discover and buy products through videos. Shoppable video platforms help e-commerce retailers recreate this video-based shopping experience on their online stores. The goal is to shorten the customer journey from discovery to purchase, making it possible within a single product explainer video.
Essential Platform features
A great shoppable video platform provides tools to help e-commerce sellers easily use this popular selling method on their websites. These tools for e-commerce vendors include:
Basic Features: These are enough for most small businesses
- Upload videos to their website, tag products, and add purchase buttons directly in the videos to make them shoppable.
- Show product details and allow adding items to the cart without leaving the video.
- Embed shoppable videos on any page, blog, or content piece to make the entire site interactive.
- Repurpose social media videos as shoppable content on their e-commerce sites.
Advanced Features: Retailers planning to use video-commerce at scale need these
- Live-stream from e-commerce storefronts with shoppable overlays.
- Enable social traffic generation to your shoppable content
- Create product explainer videos at scale using AI.
- Score video virality potential based on content and timeline.
- Automatically place shoppable videos in different parts of the user journey to encourage impulse purchases.
- Embed videos into mobile apps for a near-social experience.
- Auto-subtitle videos to increase engagement.
- Create a shoppable swipe-up feed of videos which emulates social media product discovery flows.
Choosing the right platform is crucial for a successful shoppable video strategy.
Immediate Benefits of Shoppable Videos
- Enhanced Engagement: Videos with shopping options capture attention better than static images or text, combining storytelling and online shopping for an engaging experience.
- Seamless Shopping Experience: These videos make it easy for viewers to learn about products and make purchases all within the same video, reducing friction and increasing conversion rates.
- Increased Conversion Rates: Real-time shopping features encourage impulse buys, leading to higher conversion rates compared to traditional e-commerce methods.
- Catering to Gen Z Audiences: Gen Z shoppers love interactive and immersive experiences, making shoppable videos perfect for this digital-native audience.
Creating Shoppable Videos - The Cheat Sheet
- Start with a Story: Make sure your video tells a compelling story that resonates with your audience, whether showcasing a product or telling a brand story.
- Add Interactive Elements: Embed product tags and clickable links to enhance the viewer’s experience and guide them toward a purchase.
- Optimize for Mobile: Ensure your videos are mobile-friendly, optimizing the video player and interactive elements for smaller screens.
- Use High-Quality Visuals: High-quality visuals are key to capturing and keeping viewer interest. Invest in professional video production for polished and appealing content.
🫴Find a comprehensive recipe for creating killer shoppable videos here
High Converting Shoppable Video Examples
- GRWM (Get Ready With Me) Videos: Fashion brands can feature models wearing their latest collection, with clickable tags linking to product pages.
- Tutorials and How-Tos: Beauty brands can produce makeup tutorials where viewers can click on products used in the video to buy them directly.
- Before and After: Effective for gadgets and other products, showing how a product transforms life or provides significant benefits.
Most Relevant Shoppable Video Platforms in 2024
We have compiled a list of the top 5 shoppable video platforms – along with their feature list and pricing information
1. CommentSold – Americas #1 Turnkey Video Commerce Platform
CommentSold offers a comprehensive e.commerce + video commerce platform with a category-defining toolset, including:
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- E-commerce catalog and inventory management
- Shoppable videos with AI-driven placement
- Shoppable live-stream selling
- AI-driven short-form video creation
- AI-driven video subtitling
- Super-fast auto-combine shipping solution
- Mobile app builder for packaging your e.commerce store as iOS and Android apps
- Social comment automation to drive traffic to your sites
Pricing Range: Starting at $149/mo. for complete e.commerce + video commerce + mobile app + fulfillment toolset
2. Videeo – Premiere Shopify Mobile Video Commerce App
Videeo is a turnkey mobile video commerce platform built for Shopify with a very wide range of features covering the entire spectrum.
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- Real time integration with Shopify inventory
- Upload and embed shoppable videos anywhere while allowing product variant and details display + complete transactions without leaving video
- AI-driven placement of videos on Shopify PDP pages
- A TikTok like swipe-up shoppable feed
- Multi-source, Multicast (FB/IG/TT/Website/Mobile App) live-stream selling with shoppable overlays
- Mobile app builder for packaging your Shopify catalog into super converting iOS and Android apps
- All checkout integrated with Shopify and ShopPay
- Social comment automation to drive traffic to your sites
- AI-driven short-form video creation
- AI-driven video subtitling
Pricing Range: Starting at $0/mo. for 5000 shoppable video views
3. GoTolstoy – Shoppable Videos on Shopify
GoTolstoy enables shoppable video insertion on your Shopify website landing pages. It is also integrated directly with Shopify’s SHOP app.
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- Focuses on Shoppable video placement on content pages of websites
- Upload videos or import from social media
- Shoppable videos can integrate with your Shopify site checkout
Pricing Range: Starting from $19/mo. for 5000 shoppable video views
4. Firework – Video Commerce for Brands
Firework is a comprehensive video commerce platform focused on enabling video based commerce for large brands
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- Interactive short videos with clickable products can be inserted on any webpage of your site for easy shopping
- Custom interactivity for changing the purpose of videos like integrated lead generation forms etc.
- Live-stream selling rooms on your website where you can go live and sell with shoppable overlays displaying on the live-stream
- An AI assistant that can act like a customer support agent on your website and have conversations with customers like a real person
Pricing Range: Starting from $99/mo. for 10,000 shoppable video views
GhostRetail offers innovative solutions for integrating shoppable features into video content, enhancing the online shopping experience with immersive and interactive videos that can be embedded anywhere on your website.
Pricing Range: Starting from $29/mo. for 5000 shoppable video views
How to Maximize the Impact of a Shoppable Video Platform in your e-Commerce Stack
1. Choose the Right Platform
Select a shoppable video platform that aligns with your business needs and goals. Look for features such as easy integration with your e-commerce site, analytics tools, and customization options.
For example if you are planning on using videos to primarily market products and showcase usability, a platform providing the ability to showcase videos on landing pages may be enough.
However, if you are an ecommerce platform looking to use shoppable videos to boost sales, the automatic insertion of product demonstration videos on PDP pages, a shoppable feed of videos where you engage with potential customers and promote impulse purchases may be key.
Creation of shoppable videos at scale can be taxing. An AI driven tool that can identify viral content and auto create shoppable clips can save 1000’s of hours and Millions of dollars in content production costs.
2. Analyze and Optimize
Use the analytics provided by your platform to track viewer engagement and conversion rates. Use this data to optimize your videos and improve future content.
One thing you will notice immediately is that there is a 3 dimensional impact at play here. It’s a combination of presentation, product and offer that makes shoppable video either be a blowout success or a damp squib that generates no sales.
3. Showcase your videos
Simply adding shoppable videos to your home page and a few product pages won’t bring significant value to most businesses. You need to place the videos at key points in your customer journey where they will have the most impact.
For example, when a customer first lands on your e-commerce site from an ad, engaging them with a product explainer video can be highly effective. This approach can:
a) Increase their time on the site as they engage with the video.
b) If the video is shoppable, it can boost sales as customers may decide to order multiple items showcased together.
Another ideal placement is using videos in a social media swipe-up format. This is very effective if your store has a mobile app or if the customer is viewing your website on a mobile device. A swipe-up feed of video offers customers a chance for greater product discovery, and impulse purchases. This social-media-like experience promotes customer loyalty and drives repeat purchases.
Conclusion
Shoppable video content is transforming the way consumers interact with brands and make purchase decisions. By adding this innovative approach into your marketing and e-commerce strategies, you can create an engaging, seamless shopping experience that not only captivates viewers but also drives conversions. Embrace this new wave of e-commerce and watch your business grow.
By integrating these insights into your e-commerce strategy, you’ll be well on your way to leveraging the power of shoppable video platforms and creating a more interactive, engaging shopping experience for your customers.
