Unlocking Video Commerce’s Potential: 3 Types for the Modern Retailer

Video commerce uses digital video content to unify online marketing and sales. Retailers can choose between live and pre-recorded videos to interact with consumers. This can, for example, include hosting a live video shopping event in real-time and sharing a recorded replay of this event on your website, helping to promote featured products and highlighting product features and benefits.

A survey completed by Wyzowl that explored people’s feelings towards video ads showed that compared to static ads, video ads generated better product recall. Consumers who viewed a video ad in the past week were 26% more likely to remember the product being advertised. What’s more, they were 17% more likely to buy the product as a result of seeing that video ad. 

Sales aside, your customers are your most important assets. 

Similarly to how you need to enhance and improve your product, you also need to build your relationships with your customers. This is just so much easier to do with video. With video, you can create deeper customer connections. It allows you to show up as your authentic self. This builds trust which, in return, strengthens your customer relationships further. According to HubSpot’s The Video Marketing Playbook, 85% of marketers say that video is an effective strategy to engage audiences.

Aside from making it easier to connect with customers, it also helps customers to connect the dots. For example, product demonstrations can be hosted to show real-life use cases of products. Sharing product USPs visually is not only easier to understand but also more interesting than having to read a technical brochure. According to Wyzowl’s research, 44% of shoppers indicated that they’d most likely watch a short video to learn more about a product compared to 13% that will turn to text-based articles.

Depending on your target audience and resources, you can use the following three ways to leverage video commerce:

Shoppable videos

How does it work?

Shoppable videos are interactive videos that integrate clickable product links. By clicking on one of these links, viewers can buy products featured within the video directly. 

Benefits of shoppable videos

Shoppable videos create an immediate path to purchase, reducing friction in the buying process. Less friction leads to higher conversion rates, making it a valuable tool for eCommerce retailers. 

It also allows you to track clicks so that you can keep a close tab on how much your conversion rates improve, as well as which products and creatives work best for your audience.

Data insights, tracking and enhanced engagement aside, shoppable videos also let you create richer content. The format is ideal for showcasing your products in action. It lets you highlight product features and benefits in ways that static images simply can’t. 

How to create shoppable videos at scale

Like with other types of content creation, it all starts with planning. Identify the type of content that resonates with your audience and plot on your content calendar when you’ll share what. 

One very effective way to create shoppable videos at scale is to repurpose longer forms of video content.For example, if you already created a video to use as a TV ad or or if you have video that was created during a livestream shopping event, buywith helps you cut these long-form videos into short, shoppable video snippets, using the magic of AI.

This way, you’ll have a steady stream of videos and you’ll ensure that there’s a variety of product demos, behind-the-scenes clips, and user-generated content, for example.

Where to promote your shoppable videos

Promoting shoppable videos across multiple platforms can significantly enhance your visibility and drive sales. Start with social media and your own website. 

You can use these videos on your product pages to build trust and increase conversion, as well as in any category pages and your home page. For example, feature a new arrival or special promotion by including a shoppable video in your home page banner. It can enhance the overall shopping experience and increase conversion significantly.

Instagram’s visual grid layout and TikTok’s in-app shopping feature make these two platforms perfectly positioned for video commerce. In fact, according to statistics, about 370 million beauty and personal care products were sold on TikTok Shops in 2023.  

But it doesn’t have to stop there.

Use your shoppable videos in paid marketing campaigns and you’d be surprised how well it will affect your ROAS. In fact, we’ve seen up to 15X ROAS with paid media campaigns featuring our shoppable video snippets, for example with one of the leading US retailers.

Live shopping

How does live shopping work?

While online shopping is convenient, the price you have to pay is that it often becomes a purely transactional interaction. Live shopping helps to make the experience more interactive without taking away from the convenience. It uses the exciting format of live video as a platform where hosts can feature products in real-time and answer any questions. 

Benefits of live shopping

The two-way interaction with viewers means that potential customers can receive immediate feedback. Aside from speeding up the buyer’s journey, it’s also more effective at creating a sense of urgency which further encourages viewers to make quick purchasing decisions.

This is key as consumers’ attention spans are decreasing. You need a fresh and engaging way like live shopping to capture and retain interest. 

Lastly, in an online retail environment, trust becomes even more crucial. A live host can put a face to your brand and share honest feedback to help build brand credibility.  

Best practices

As you’ll be hosting your video live, it leaves little room for error. You’ll want to prioritize best practices like audience and market research. This will help you with the content planning. 

Before the event, take the time to outline the structure or your session. You need to know beforehand which products you’ll showcase and which unique features you’ll want to highlight.

You’ll also need to invest in a reliable partner and host for your event. This is where buywith comes in handy. Its immersive livestream shopping platform simplifies the task of hosting your event natively on your eCommerce website. You only need to add one line of code to your website, eliminating the extra friction of having to download apps. 

buywith also has a network of top agencies and creator marketing experts who can help you find the perfect host for your live event. 

One-to-one video commerce

How does it work?

One-to-one video commerce is similar to live shopping. The difference is that it will involve personalized video interaction between your host or sales rep and a customer. This means that not only do customers enjoy a more interactive shopping experience, but also one that’s tailored to their interests. 

Think of it as a VIP shopping experience for a special customer. But then, aren’t all customers special? 🙂

Benefits of one-to-one video commerce 

One of the main advantages that one-to-one video commerce has over the other two types of video commerce is that it enables a truly intimate and personalized experience. It gives your team the opportunity to share product recommendations based on a customer’s actual needs. 

Let’s say you’re selling evening gowns. In this case, you can suggest dresses that will show off your customer’s best features. 

You can think of it as in-store personal shopping but done virtually. 

This individualized attention that shoppers receive raises the bar. It makes it difficult for retailers that don’t leverage this type of video commerce to compete. The result—higher AOV, improved customer loyalty and more repeat business.

Which industries it’s suited for 

The ability to offer next-level personalized recommendations and customer attention make it ideal for products that fall in the more expensive price range, or where the buying process is more complicated and requires a lot of information.

This can include anything from luxury goods, cars, furniture, consumer electronics and more. Whether you’re selling high-end fashion items or an upscale property, it’s suited for a variety of industries.  

Let’s take fashion, for example. As your fashion style is often a personal statement, one-to-one commerce can be used to share personalized styling services. Based on a customer’s style preferences and past purchases, you can share curated outfits.

The same applies to skincare products. While it’s not about style preferences, each individual has specific skincare needs. You can use the one-to-one video format to offer a virtual skin assessment, followed by personalized advice and product recommendations. 

Each method—shoppable videos, live shopping, and one-to-one video commerce—has its unique strengths and weaknesses. The best choice depends on your business model, resources, and customer preferences.

However, the best approach is not an either or – but to combine two or more formats and tailor these experiences to different customers at different stages of their buying journey.

With the right video commerce platform, you’ll be able to give all three of these types a try. Plus, as everything happens in one place, you can create synergies and interactions between each type. For example, content from your recent live shopping event can be split into short shoppable videos to make shopping seamless.  

Looking to learn more? Book a call with one of our experts to walk you through the different options and recommend the right approach for your brand.