Video marketing has been one of the growing trends of the past decade. A 2020 survey by Wyzowl found that 80% of video marketers saw increased sales, and 87% gained more traffic to their sites through video marketing. The effectiveness of this method and increased popularity of video content among consumers led to a new trend, emerging first in Asian countries: video commerce.
WATConsult reported 146 million video commerce users in 2020 in India, a number expected to grow to 216 million by the end of 2022. The most popular platforms are YouTube, followed by Facebook and Instagram, and platforms like Meesho, Sim-Sim, and Trell, designed especially for social video commerce.
Research by RedSeer revealed that India's video commerce gross merchandise value (GMV) could grow to reach $250 billion by 2030. According to the report, the growth happens "because consumers are increasingly turning to video to learn about new products, compare products, and share experiences. Video commerce enables brands to tell their stories in a whole new way that is engaging, entertaining besides building a relationship with the customer."
India follows China's success with livestreaming e-commerce, a potent phenomenon in the country, generating 2 trillion yuan ($312.5 billion) in sales. Video commerce platforms there include Kuaishou and Alibaba's Taobao, among others.
The video commerce trend will grow as brands capitalize on market opportunities. It is already taking off in other countries outside China and India, with livestreamers reporting significant consumer sales volumes for an emerging e-commerce channel.
Video commerce is booming because customers enjoy seeing the product before purchasing.
Video commerce explained
Video marketing is not new: retailers use video content to promote products and services and gain leads. However, the method becomes video commerce when it drives sales through AI-powered shoppable videos.
Shoppable videos direct viewers to a store or allow them to make the purchase straight from the video itself. They can be ads, instructional videos, and answer to frequently asked questions about a service or a product.
Retailers can integrate shoppable videos straight into their websites or use social media platforms, ads, video shopping apps, and third-party websites.
Besides delivering information to consumers, shoppable videos offer a visual experience that quickly influences shoppers' purchase decisions.
Video commerce can use different methods to reach consumers: live video and pre-recorded video (either ads or informational content). Here are a few video commerce platforms for live video.
Video commerce platforms
A good video commerce platform provides all the tools you need to record and distribute video or to interact with shoppers live. Video commerce platforms (and apps) enable retailers to distribute video content on websites, social media channels, and mobile devices.
Here are a few video commerce platforms for live video.
Shopify offers the Live Shopping & Video Streams app to enable sellers to increase sales and conversions while boosting buyer engagement.
Towards the end of 2021, Meta rolled out Facebook Live Shopping for Creators and Instagram Live Shopping, both offering businesses the tools to "deepen connections with shoppers and drive sales in the moment of discovery."
The Amazon Live Creator app is another tool that allows brands to reach consumers through video.
GoLive blends live streaming with real-time analytics and artificial intelligence, enabling brands to highlight their products, interact with shoppers, sell, analyse reach and sales, and predict consumer behaviours and sales.
Bambuser is a live video shopping SaaS platform with excellent shoppable video functionality: customers can click on a product image within the live video to add to cart without leaving the stream.
Smartzer offers both shoppable live streams and shoppable video. They report a 55% viewer engagement rate and 25% click-through rate for brands using the app. Customers can engage with brands through comments and likes and make purchases without leaving the stream or video.
Another excellent video commerce platform is Streams.Live, launched in June 2021. Streams.Live uses Photon proprietary real-time video technology for video processing and distribution. It incorporates artificial intelligence, including language and mood analysis, allowing retailers to sell on all channels, from social media to e-commerce sites. Shoppers can click on a product featured during the live stream and buy it without leaving the live shopping party.
Quick tips for creating engaging shoppable videos
Like with every type of content employed for digital marketing, your shoppable videos must be engaging and relevant. Here are a few tips to get you started:
- Put your customer first: create video content that addresses a purchase need.
- Engage with your audiences with an authentic and genuine message.
- Do not just list product features; use storytelling to "sell" your product.
- Explain the benefits of your products and showcase customer testimonials to strengthen your videos.
- Optimize your videos for search and include relevant shopping links in their descriptions.
- Use up to three (more is spammy) #hastags to make your videos discoverable on social media platforms.
- Keep your videos short - between 15 seconds and three minutes - to maximize views and engagement. Longer videos tend to get boring.
- Include a customized shopping cart in your shoppable videos.
If you have not already started to build content for video commerce, this is the right time to start. Experiment with the most popular live shopping platforms listed above, then focus on one or two video commerce channels that outperform the others for your brand.
