The video-enabled consumer has spoken. Find out what they said!
Over 1,000 shoppers were surveyed to find out how they use video in shopping and what elements matter to them. We invite you to join the e-tailing group President, Lauren Freedman, and Invodo Director of Marketing, Russ Somers, who will share these research insights and the implications for online and multichannel merchants. Register today>>
Learn:
- Where, why, and how consumers watch video
- Where video performs best
- What consumers will watch – and what they won’t
- How consumers use video to make purchase decisions
Consumers expect video to be a part of their shopping experience. But how do you know what type of video will engage and convert them? Find out why video quality matters, what today’s consumer will watch, how to extend your video investment across channels to leverage the power of social networks and mobile devices, and more.
Leave with insight into consumer behavior and best practices to engage and inspire your shoppers.
2012 is here, and pundits are already making their predictions. (We are too). But first let’s look back on an amazing 2011, with a focus on Q4 and the holiday season.
This was a record-setting season for online retail. Cyber Monday was the busiest ever, at $1.25 billion according to Comscore.
To dive a little deeper into the record-setting activity that occurred in eCommerce video, we dived into data from across the Invodo client base. That’s the largest network of video-enabled retailers in one place. Tens of thousands of videos across about 100 retailers and major brands gives us a good read on how shoppers used video during 2011 and during the holiday season. Key learnings:
Today’s shopper relies on video more than ever – and more experienced shoppers lead the trend. As previously reported, Cyber Monday video views increased by 897% and Black Friday video views increased by 337% over 2010. But that’s only the tip of the iceberg. Looking at all of Q4 2011, video views increased by more than 3x. Why was Cyber Monday even bigger? Good question. My take – Cyber Monday shoppers are the most sophisticated and dedicated online shoppers. They know how to take full advantage of the tools available to them, from reviews and free shipping to video and 3D interactive experiences.
Shoppers prefer Facebook and email for sharing. 46% of Q4 video shares were on Facebook. Email was nearly as popular, accounting for 40% of shares, and Twitter was used 14% of the time. If you don’t have sharing enabled for your videos, you’re missing out on an easy opportunity to get additional views and sales.
Today’s holiday shopper is wired, multichannel, and multiplatform. Mobile browsers accounted for 12% of holiday season video views on Invodo client sites. Over half of that – 6.3% – was iPad, and Android was 3.5%. I saw plenty of people using their phones in store aisles to check prices and availability as well as to get product information without waiting for a store associate.
That’s a lot bigger than any discussion about HTML5 versus Flash. The same shopper may research on a laptop, stop into a store to kick the tires, view a product video on their phone while in the aisle, and ultimately purchase on their iPad. Are you leveraging your videos and other content smoothly across these touchpoints?
A final point: if this season was groundbreaking in terms of tablet usage, I can’t wait to see what happens in 2012. Reason: the Kindle Fire’s adoption rate has overtaken the iPad’s. Amazon has planted an Amazon-connected storefront in the hands of millions of consumers. Am I the only one who sees eCommerce implications there? How will that affect Apple’s iPad strategy?
Shoppers are vocal about which videos help them shop – and which do not. Shoppers using Invodo’s Ratings and Comments feature rated videos an average of 4.19 out of 5 stars. Apparel, do-it-yourself and toys received the highest marks, but multichannel retailers scored well across all product categories.
In a subset analyzed for content, videos that included a demonstration of product features receives almost a full star more than videos that did not. User comments on videos without clear product demonstrations included responses such as “I expected to see the product in use.” This is a “video coming of age” phenomenon. Consumers expect video, like any other site content, to provide value above and beyond simply creating motion to catch the eye.
Video drives conversion across product categories, but does so differently depending on type of product and type of shopper. Given the size of the Invodo client base and the depth of our analytics, there’s some surprising and useful data there. Stay tuned – that’s coming in a second post as soon as I have an hour to crunch the data and an afternoon to put it in context. If you’re not subscribed to the blog, this might be a good time to sign up.
It always makes us smile when our clients succeed! Several Invodo clients recently received recognition as one of Internet Retailer’s Hot 100 E-Retailers of 2012. What boosts companies like this to the top in eCommerce? Site optimization, personalization and videos that help consumers navigate purchase choices emerged as front-runners in the mix.
Babies “R” Us was noted as having an exceptional online store that helps shoppers find exactly what they are looking for. Babies “R” Us employs video to showcase products as well as to offer service support. In the example below, a virtual advisor explains the perks of the Rewards “R” Us program.
View content for Babies"R"Us Rewards.
Office Depot made the list for their multi-channel approach that enables customers to shop and buy anywhere. Their scan-and-go mobile app makes ordering office supplies easy, with only a few swipes of a screen. As you can see below in the videos, Office Depot pros give detailed information along with demonstrations to equip shoppers to make the best purchase decisions.
View content for ofd0003-j122 Cut Sheet Paper Multi.
View content for ofd0023-j122 Swingline Optima Grip Elctric Stapler.
Whew…what a week! When you pack Chinese dragon dancers, contortionists, belly dancers, clam “chowda”, Harley motorcycles, polka music, and a handful of 5 hour energy drinks into 3 days and 2 (long) nights, can you really call it work?!
You can if you were one of the lucky 600+ to join Craig Wax and I in Boston last week for Akamai Edge. Akamai employees, customers, and partners really embrace and live the mantra of “work hard, play hard”. We approve.
The event, attended by IT and marketing leadership from some of the world’s most admired brands, also happened to be the “launch party” for the newly minted strategic partnership between Invodo and Akamai. The rich content and conversations around how Akamai is intelligently streamlining the delivery of content over the internet further confirmed our suspicions that we’re partnered with the most scalable, secure, and speedy CDN in the world. Even more important, our shared clients have a complete solution for eCommerce video that provides their customers with the best shopping experience across all devices and geographic boundaries.
Here are a few of my other favorites from the show:
It was a whirlwind of a week, and we want to say “thanks” to our friends at Akamai for including us. We hope next year in Vegas will be even bigger!
Cheers,
Keith Blankenship | Director of Business Development
At the recent shop.org Summit in Boston, Invodo CEO Craig Wax took a few minutes to talk with Retail Touchpoints associate editor Amanda Batista about video. Check out the video interview below, or click here to visit TouchpointsTV.
The Shop.org Annual Summit said goodbye to the over 4,000 attendees late last week. IR 500 retailers, major brands, industry experts, and solution providers all left Boston to head back home to share their learnings and experiences. From best practices to emerging technologies, the content was rich and the collaboration from the best and brightest in eCommerce was unmatched.
During Shop.org, you could feel the excitement in the air especially around mobile, video, and social strategies. What used to be emerging technologies have now become musts for online retailers. As the industry landscape continues to become more intricate and complex, strong foundations and mastery of best practices remain inherent to online retail success. We hope everyone who attended found immense value and left with the key tactics and inspiration to prepare them to conquer the holiday season and subsequent year.
If you didn’t make the Summit, you can access many of the presentations and blogs here in addition to the Invodo team’s top takeaways below.
Craig Wax, Invodo CEO
There was a change in retailers from, “We need to think about video” to “we need to develop a multi-channel video strategy.” Retailers are realizing the need for a consistent and rich experience across channels.
Andrew Martin, Invodo Market Developer
More and more companies are seeing the value of video as a strategic tool to achieve a range of business results. While many are still focused on product video (and product video remains extremely important), brands are identifying needs for video across all points of customer interaction, including post-purchase support, category video, and overall brand education.
Dave Jobe, Invodo Enterprise Sales Director
Retailers are aware of the need for video but despite their excitement, there is still a large focus on mastering the fundamentals of online retailing. This simply alludes to the complexities of online retailing and the constant challenges of this dynamic industry.
In addition to the excellent keynotes, great networking, and tactical sessions, we also had some fun! Invodo, along with partners Monetate and Baynote, hosted a Shop.org Kick Off event at Game On Monday evening. Attendees got to watch the Patriots beat the Dolphins, eat and drink to their hearts content, and also bat in the official Red Sox batting cages! Check out some picture below.
We look forward to seeing everyone in Denver at the 2012 Shop.org Annual Summit. Invodo will be at booth #735 so make sure to stop by and meet the team!
At the shop.org summit a few days ago, Invodo CEO Craig Wax had a few minutes to sit down and discuss our new feature, Video Ratings and Comments, with Tim Parry from Multichannel Merchant. Here’s a quick video of what he had to say.
Boston will soon welcome top multi-channel retailers and eCommerce solution providers for a week of strategy sessions, thought leadership presentations, and high-level networking at this year’s eTail East. From monetizing social media to international expansion, the most relevant topics to multi-channel retailers will be covered. The most exciting component to this year’s conference is the addition of the Online Video and eCommerce Innovation track. As the industry has proven, online video is an integral part to any marketing mix. But the strategy behind it is complex. Below are my top picks for the sessions to attend to gain online video knowledge and strategy tips for a successful video program.
1. Panel Discussion: Best Practices For Using Online Video To Drive eCommerce
This is a great opportunity to hear online video best practices straight from the mouths of retailers. Expect the panelists to address the different options for creating video, how to utilize online video to support sales activities and the in-store experience, the partners out there to help with video, and how to monetize video content. All in all, it will be an educational panel worth attending. Tuesday, August 9th; 2:10pm; Track C.
2. eCommerce Video Innovation: Driving Revenue and Customer Engagement Across Channels
If you want to delve into video strategy and see the possibilities and the future of online video, this is the presentation to attend. Craig Wax, Invodo CEO, will be sharing tactical information on how to use video across channels to deliver business results. Attend and leave with an elevated understanding of how to drive revenue and increase customer engagement through video . Tuesday, August 9th; 2:45p; Track C.
3. Building An Innovative & Nimble eCommerce Site That Drives Customer Value
For those looking for the nitty-gritty components to a successful video strategy, this is the session for you. Ajit Sivadasan, VP/GM Global eCommerce & Sales at Lenovo, will address everything from technology to the challenges of balancing cost and flexibility, organizational challenges, and the critical success factors that contributed to Lenovo’s success. Tuesday, August 9th; 5:10p; Track C.
If the above sessions leave you wanting more online video information, stop by Invodo’s booth 55. We love discussing video strategy…It’s what we do. See you in Boston!
The 2011 Internet Retailer Conference & Exhibition is now wrapped and boy was it huge! This year’s IRCE was the largest ever. With more speakers, exhibitors, and attendees, the energy and information circulating throughout the show was abundant. I had the opportunity to speak with retailers of all sizes to learn their needs, wants, top priorities, and key session learnings. Here are three top takeaways from this year’s IRCE.
1. Social Media is here to stay. As I have blogged before, social media is a top priority for online retailers. With 700 million users, Facebook commerce is on everyone’s mind and dominated the conversation on the first day of IRCE. Retailers such as Levis and Ticketmaster shared their Facebook success stories and best practices on how grow and leverage fans. While there is still some ambiguity around social media, IRCE sessions provided great information that retailers can surely use in their quest to figure out Facebook.
2. Retailers are increasingly thinking Cross-Channel. Creating a consistent online and offline experience is increasingly more important for multi-channel retailers. Bob Cell of MyBuys and Glenn Edelman of The Wine Enthusiast shared survey results from 1,000 consumers’ cross-channel experiences and 20 retailers’ practices to meet customer expectations. At a more detailed level, Nikki Baird of RSR Research covered strategies that retailers can use to ensure that store staff understands and supports web initiatives. From streamlining internal initiatives to meeting high customer expectations, the need for cross-channel consistency is top priority.
3. Video. Video. Video. Increasing customer engagement and site stickiness is a key to online retail success. To beat out the competition, retail sites need a differentiating factor that gives shoppers what they want: a unique, informational, and engaging experience. And nothing does that better than Video. Trailblazing e-retailers such as Walgreens, who has 1,500 videos on their eCommerce site and initiatives to create content for web TV, shared their thoughts on this new age of retailing at IRCE. I predict that the Internet top 100 retailers will all have video on their site by 2012. If they don’t, I predict they won’t be in the IR 100 for too long. Video is the new media for communicating your message. Be it product video, customer service video, or promotional video, retailers are recognizing the need and taking quick action.
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Three Key Insights from Video Ratings and Comments
This new feature allows Invodo clients to capture consumer feedback on their videos. In short, end users can tell us exactly what they think of video content. This feedback, combined with the quantitative insights from Video Conversion Tracking, lets us continually measure and improve the video experience for our clients.
Since we launched on a number of client sites, what have we learned? A few key insights:
1) Video Quality Matters. Is that obvious? Maybe. But the quality of video on retail sites varies widely. You don’t have to surf too far to find Flipcam-produced video with poor lighting and sound, or animated slideware scrolling through images while robotically reading marketing copy through a text-to-speech engine. One can understand why retailers would look for cost-effective options to cover key products with video. But consumers rate well-produced product-focused video much higher than any other category. On a five-star system, such video receives an average rating of 4.08 stars. Other types don’t perform nearly as well. Clearly it’s worth investing in video quality.
2) Consumers Will Tell You What They Need. To close a sale online, you must close your site visitor’s information gap. Those information gaps are easy to identify in a brick-and-mortar environment; simply ask salespeople what customers are asking about. Online, it’s a different story. The Ratings and Comments feature lets us learn what shoppers want to see (“Not enough info on the treadmill’s quality, build, accessories. Auto incline? Fold for storage? How heavy?”). These information gaps can be filled out in subsequent rounds of video production, or even in product page copy or overlays.
3) High Enthusiasm for Video Translates into Participation. For every ten video ratings, there is one comment. That’s a 10% participation rate. Sometimes it’s positive (“I love the close up shots of the handle bars. Definitely buying this bike!”). Other times it’s not positive, but calls out an information gap such as the earlier treadmill comment. In either case, you want to hear it.
We’ll continue collecting and analyzing this data. Two areas I plan to explore are cross-category comparisons and for how well it correlates with sales data from Video Conversion Tracking. If there’s a particular area you’re interested in seeing research on, let me know in the comments.