The e-tailing group, with sponsorship from Invodo, recently released a report titled “Delivering Superior Shopping Experiences Via Video” that details the impact of video on retail and illustrates the increased demand for video content. Over 1,000 consumers were surveyed in an attempt to understand the current habits of video consumption and the role product videos play in the consumers’ research and purchasing habits.
The following is a recap of the findings, but we encourage you to read the full report which includes a series of great examples, numerous facts and figures, and a three-part checklist to help jump-start your thinking about using video on your e-commerce site.
Give Them What They Want
We’re starting to see a significant shift in video viewership on e-commerce sites. Not only do consumers want video, they have come to expect it. Consumers watch video over a wide array of categories and there is an appeal in nearly every area. The top categories: automotive, consumer electronics, music/dvd/videos, toys/video games, and computer hardware/software.
“Consumers watch product videos 60 percent of the time they are encountered on websites.”
“In the past three months 36 percent of survey participants watched five or more product videos on websites.”
Increase Confidence
Video plays a key role in increasing consumer confidence while purchasing. Educational videos provide the most benefit during the buying cycle and help greatly in the decision making process. Product videos that include some type of demonstration are much more effective than videos that passively mention the product.
“One-in-three consumers spend more than three minutes watching product videos that educate or demonstrate.”
Quality Matters
Over 50 percent of people surveyed said they prefer to watch professionally produced videos and 73 percent said the most important aspect to watching video is the overall quality. This goes a long ways towards showing that consumers have greater engagement with high quality video and believe they are more reliable when making purchasing decisions.
“The quality of product video production is very/somewhat important to at least two out-of-three consumers who cite all of the elements that comprise a professional video as somewhat to very important. Moreover, 60% of these shoppers report that overall quality tops the list for a desirable video experience.”
It’s All about Location
Product pages are still the top choice for video placement, but many locations deserve video integration as well, such as the home page, centralized hubs, and brand pages. Placement and ease of viewing on these pages also play a key factor in how often videos get watched.
“The home page (51%) and product page (47%) see highest viewership of videos.”
“Consumer preference (very/somewhat important) is for a button that indicates a video can be seen (64%), an embedded video player (61%) that is above the fold (59%) and has a large icon noting its presence 58%).”
Spread it Around
Getting shoppers to view your videos on your e-commerce site is only the beginning. Targeting video to other areas such as email, social media, and mobile are all ways to expand your video reach.
“In the past three months, one third of consumers viewed a product video by clicking through an email.”
Wrap-Up
We are continually learning more about how consumers’ use and consume video and the role it plays within the buying cycle. One thing is for certain, consumers are looking for video more than ever before and high-quality video that is well placed and easy to find will increase confidence and help aid in the purchasing process.
Download the full report at invodo.com (registration required) or at e-tailing.com.
