Maximizing Your Sales with Video Shopping - The Ultimate Guide to the Next Big Thing in eCommerce

Customers are growing tired of the traditional online shopping experience. 

Meet Beck! 

Beck was looking for the perfect leather bag for what felt like an eternity. After exploring hundreds of options across dozens of online stores, she stumbled upon one leather bag listing that she absolutely loved. 

The pictures showed a stylish and confident boss lady holding a luxurious rich brown leather bag with shining gold hardware. Beck thought, “This is what I have been looking for all along.”   

She placed an order immediately. 

Fast forward a few days, and the bag finally arrived. 

Beck’s excitement level was off the charts. 

But the moment she unwrapped her package, her excitement turned into disappointment. 

She was shocked to see how different it looked from the pictures. 

The leather was much duller and less glossy. The build quality was poor. It was by far the worst-quality bag she had ever seen in her life. To top it off, the hardware is not even gold; but cheap-looking brass. 

This made her wonder, “I wish I had seen the leather bag being used before hitting the buy button.”

This isn’t just Beck’s story. 

It’s the story of millions of online shoppers globally.

Your customers are afraid!

Most eCommerce store owners haven’t realized this yet, but customers are tired of making purchasing decisions solely based on product images, descriptions, and reviews. 

I reached out to my network to understand how many people have had similar experiences to Beck. 

And it’s not just impacting customers. eCommerce stores that accept returns and replacements are being affected as well. From covering shipping costs to restocking fees to issuing a refund, handling returns/replacements and issuing refunds is costly for online stores. Therefore, empowering your customers to make the right purchasing decisions and have realistic expectations is important. 

Here's the thing - literally anyone with a good budget can:

1. 1. Set up a visually appealing and highly functional online store.

2. 2. Hire terrific photographers for jaw-breaking product images.

   3. Work with conversion-focused copywriters to produce compelling product descriptions.

3. 4. Add positive reviews to their product listings.

4. 5. And spend thousands in paid advertising to drive traffic to their store. 

But that’s not enough to get your customers to check out quickly and build trust. To boost confidence and encourage your customers to purchase from you quickly, you need to give them a way to see your products in action. 

One effective and proven way to do this is through video shopping. Video shopping will help your customers see your product being used and make informed purchasing decisions. 

BTW, here’s a cute shoppable video of RIFRUF’s dog sneakers in action on their website.

Consumers love video shopping. With shoppable videos, you’re providing your customers with an immersive and interactive shopping experience. You’re showing your products in a more dynamic and visually appealing manner. eCommerce stores incorporating video shopping into their strategy have reported increased engagement, higher conversion rates, enhanced product visibility, greater reach, and a better customer experience (check out the success stories section).

Shopify’s Commerce Trends 2023 report indicated that video shopping lowers barriers to conversion, with some companies reporting conversion rates near 30%.    

Wondering what video shopping is? Let’s find out.

What is video shopping?

In layman's terms, video shopping refers to the use of videos to demonstrate products and offer customers an immersive and interactive shopping experience. 

Suppose you sell baby products online. Now, you can either provide your customers with the same old traditional shopping experience (just like your competitors), or you can offer them an interactive and immersive way to shop baby products similar to this -

Many eCommerce store owners mistakenly believe that video shopping simply involves adding product videos to their listings. 

Wrong!

Video shopping goes beyond this and involves the use of video technology to connect with customers in real-time while also providing a more interactive and engaging shopping experience. With video shopping, your customers can see products in action, browse through product images, choose color and size, read the product description, and add them directly to the cart. Alongside, eCommerce stores can also add a "You May Also Like" section to show shoppers other relevant products.

Kaleigh Moore, a results-driven eCommerce writer with a proven track record and bylines in Forbes, Fast Company, Adweek, and many other publications, stated –

Busy Baby Mat, an eCommerce store selling a wide range of baby products, achieved a staggering 11.49% conversion rate by implementing video shopping on their website. The “See It In Action” section on their website allows their shoppers to tap into an interactive shopping experience like this:

Last we checked, adding the video shopping functionality helped them add more than 451 hours to their on-site time, and achieve an 11.49% conversion rate. 

Similarly, hundreds of our customers have reported higher conversion rates after adding the video shopping functionality to their online stores. 

Impressed?

Allow me to put in front of you the benefits of implementing video shopping in your online store.

Why should eCommerce businesses implement video shopping?

Most times, consumers don’t know what they want. They just want to explore and compare different options. By implementing video shopping functionality in your online store, you can present your products in front of your consumers in an interactive manner. 

Remember the Busy Baby Mat example we looked at above where we explored the different products by clicking on the “downward” arrow? 

For me, the experience was similar to scrolling my TikTok feed or Instagram Reels, but better. It was engaging, addictive, and fun. Add the element of interactivity to it with video shopping – it was the ultimate shopping experience.

Allow me to share a few benefits of video shopping for eCommerce store owners –

1. 1. Improved customer engagement 

2. 2. Enhanced product understanding

3. 3. Increased sales

4. 4. Ability to use them anywhere.

1. Improved customer engagement

Nowadays, eCommerce stores are struggling to engage their customers. Adding video shopping functionality to your store is an excellent solution to this lack of engagement problem. 

Want to engage your customers? Do it with videos. Do it by giving them an opportunity to experience your products in a visually-appealing manner. 

Data fetched from Vidyard’s 2022 State of Video report indicates that video is the top performer for driving conversions. About 70% of sellers have reported that videos convert better than other forms of content.   

By putting shoppable videos in front of your customers, you’re allowing your customers to have a thorough understanding of your products. You’re giving them an opportunity to experience your products in action before purchase. Most importantly, you’re building trust – as your customers will know that you’re willing to show your products in use prior to purchase. 

2. Enhanced product understanding

Let’s say you want to take your family on a camping trip. To ensure everyone has a comfortable place to sleep, you purchase a family tent. Looking at the wide range of options online makes you feel overwhelmed. You spend hours reading product descriptions, looking at images, and reading reviews – yet cannot get a good sense of what the tents are like in person.

You’re worried about ordering the wrong size. Or what if the tent you order is just too complicated to set up? Worse – what if the quality doesn’t meet your expectations and falls apart on your first camping trip?

No matter what you sell online, it’s important to note that your customers are confused. Sure, a few product images, a lengthy description, and your reviews section can give them an idea of what they’re buying. But let’s face it – they want more. They want a detailed understanding of the product before they’re ready to purchase.

That’s what video shopping can help your customers with. Shoppable videos are a game-changer in eCommerce. By showing videos of your products being used, your customers can have a much better idea of your products' size, features, and quality. Also, they can understand how your products will fit into their lives and whether they’ll serve the purpose. 

3. Increased sales

Raghav Somani, the founder, and CEO of Headphone Zone, reported more than ₹53.8M in added revenue at a +19% conversion rate by implementing video shopping.

Video shopping gives customers a much better understanding of the products – as they can see them in action. Also, consumers are highly likely to trust an eCommerce store if they’re willing enough to show their products in use. In addition, you’re allowing your customers to browse your online store and shop for products in an interactive manner.  

Since video shopping is fun, interactive, and engaging, your customers will likely spend more time in your store and consider your products. They’ll easily be able to find what they’re looking for and experience products before even purchasing them. Give them the ability to checkout at a lightning-fast pace, and you’ll see a spike in conversions, resulting in increased sales and revenue. 

4. Ability to use them anywhere

Want to run video shopping SMS and/or email campaigns? Or maybe you just want to embed them across different websites outside your online store? The best thing about shoppable videos is that you can add them anywhere.

Should you create shoppable videos with Videowise, our platform will allow you to share shoppable videos as links, chat messages, emails, and across different websites. 

Click here to book a demo to learn more. 

Oh, and did I tell you that you can upsell with QR codes on the packaging? All your customers need to do is scan the QR code on packages, and they’ll be able to access your shoppable videos playlist in no time. 

Alongside this, some other obvious benefits of video shopping for eCommerce stores include –

• Builds confidence.

• Increases customer satisfaction and retention rates.

• Helps gain a competitive advantage.

• Leads to increased reach and visibility.

Wondering how video shopping is different from the live video shopping feature? Let’s find out.

How is video shopping different from the live video shopping experience?

Live video shopping and video shopping are almost similar. The only difference is that live video shopping involves real-time interaction between customers and viewers. This can include providing demonstrations, video chat, answering questions, and punching orders in real time with live streams. On the other hand, video shopping involves the use of interactive pre-recorded videos - these can be user-generated content as well. There's no live stream involved.

Amazon’s Live Creator is the perfect live shopping feature example - it’s a place where Amazon influencers or creators host live videos to showcase their favorite products.

I’m a freelance content writer + marketer at Videowise. But I’d like to highlight – I’m really picky about the clients I work with. 

Before signing a contract with Videowise, I conducted thorough market research to understand the potential video shopping holds. I was blown away by the results I saw – businesses that used video shopping saw significant increases in conversions, customer retention, and overall sales.

At the same time, Vitaliy from Product Marketing at Videowise was kind enough to share some case studies with me, and the results were truly impressive. In the next section, I want to put these results in front of you.

4 success stories of businesses that have used video shopping to increase sales

Hundreds of our customers have reported achieving ground-breaking results after implementing video shopping. Allow me to share my personal favorites –

1. 1. Artsabers generated more than $1.1M at up to a +25% conversion rate.

2. 2. Apolla achieved an average 9.94% video conversion rate with 90.54x ROI.

3. 3. RIFRUF added +$50k in revenue at a 16% conversion rate.

4. 4. Ava Estell generated £743K at up to a 21% conversion rate.

Spoiler alert – these results will leave you stunned; proceed with caution. In fact, I was as shocked as you when I saw them. 

Let’s dive deeper into every single one of these case studies.

1. Artsabers generated more than $1.1M at up to a +25% conversion rate

If you’re a die-hard Star Wars fan, head over to Artsabers today.

Artsabers provides premium-quality lightsabers to fans at reasonable prices. Before implementing the video shopping functionality, the eCommerce brand struggled to show the look and feel of its premium lightsabers. At the same time, they struggled to clearly communicate their brand’s value proposition to Star Wars fans. They soon realized this problem and offered an immersive experience on their eCommerce site in November 2021. Fast forward to today -

• Video sales brought in 1M in added revenue.

• Engagement rate increased up to 28%.

• Conversion rate rose to 26%.

• About 100k shoppers have been engaged and retained, generating an average order value of $382.

• Average watch time per shopper stood at 3 minutes and 33 seconds. 

Click here to read Artsabers case study.

2. Apolla achieved an average 9.94% video conversion rate with 90.54x ROI

What makes Apolla special is that they offer patented compression socks that are loved and trusted by thousands of people. From no-show socks to leg warmers, they have a wide collection – enough to make you fall in love. 

Before implementing the video shopping functionality on their website, Apollo was struggling to showcase their brand’s value proposition – as their socks’ functionality was meant to be shown in action. Also, they struggled to highlight user-generated content (they generated a lot after being featured in Shark Tank) from their top supporters. They wanted to feature an insanely high amount of UGC they were generating on their Shopify store. 

That’s when they tapped into video shopping.

They generated instant results. The eCommerce sock brand achieved up to –

• 21.47% in video engagement.

• 9.94% conversion rate with 90.54x ROI.

• 2,196 hours and 30 minutes of added on-site time.

• $193.8k in added revenue.

Click here to read Apolla case study.

3. RIFRUF added +$50k in revenue at a 16% conversion rate

RIFRUF doesn’t just sell cute dog shoes. After seeing his dog Caesar's paws being injured by walking over broken glass, burning asphalt, and other man-made elements, Peter set out on a mission to create dog footwear that checked all the boxes regarding quality and functionality, and design.

Dog shoes are cute. But they aren’t a common product or topic – which is one of the reasons RIFRUF struggled to achieve sales. So – they implemented video shopping functionality to increase customer awareness and engage them.

After implementing video shopping with Videowise, RIFRUF:

• Drove more than $50k in 6 months.

• Saw a spike in the engagement rate of up to 13%.

• Increased their conversion rate up to 7%

• Added more than 500 hours of on-site time.

Click here to read RIFRUF case study.

4. Ava Estell generated £743K at up to 21% conversion rate

Ava Estell, an all-natural skincare brand, struggled to show their brand’s value proposition. 

Why? 

That’s because gazillions of all-talk and no-action skincare brands out there are fake-promising outstanding results, which is why consumers don’t trust skincare brands easily. And it’s not just about trust. They don’t want to apply a cream or lotion on their skin without conducting thorough research. Online cosmetic shopping isn’t a streamlined journey. 

To show that their products actually delivered results and offer an interactive shopping experience, Ava-Estell added different types of videos like before-after and product benefits as shoppable videos. This resulted in –

• $743K+ in added revenue.

• Increase in engagement rate up to 23%.

• Rise in conversion rate up to 21%.

• 4,498+ hours of added on-site time.

Impressive, isn’t it?

Read Ava Estell’s case study here.

So, it’s obvious – implementing video shopping on your website is super beneficial. If you’re interested in implementing the functionality on your eCommerce store, continue reading as we’re about to show you how to get started with video shopping.

How to implement video shopping on your eCommerce store

To implement video shopping on your eCommerce store, follow these steps –

1. 1. Define your goals.

2. 2. Learn what kinds of videos resonate with your target audience.

3. 3. Create high-quality and engaging video content. 

4. 4. Use a video shopping platform like Videowise.

5. 5. Get the word out.

6. 6. Measure and optimize.

1. Define your goals

Tired of watching your website visitors bounce off? Looking to turn your eCommerce store into a party that everyone wants to attend? Finding ways to engage your visitors and increase sales? While integrating interactive and engaging videos into your eCommerce store is the answer, you must first define your goals. 

I know – the ultimate goal is to increase your sales and drive higher revenue. But you need to be more specific while setting your goals. Setting unrealistic goals can lead to a number of negative consequences like lowered morale, decreased productivity, and lesser innovation. Set realistic SMART goals like –

Set quarterly goals. Break them down into objectives – which you’d like to achieve on a monthly basis. Don’t just set short-term (quarterly goals). Set long-term goals (five-year or ten-year goals) as well like –

After setting your goals, the next step is to identify your target audience. 

2. Learn what kinds of videos your target audience resonates with

The last thing you want to do is put boring and unengaging videos in front of your target audience. If you do that, you’ll see the opposite of your expectations. 

Don’t do that.

Instead, focus on the quality of your videos. 

Most importantly, make sure they’re engaging and compelling enough.

To create compelling videos, you first need to understand your target audience. Dive deep into their demographics, behaviors, and interests. Learn what type of video content engages them. Your competitors may not be offering video shopping. But they’re likely posting product videos on their social media platforms. Learn what type of videos posted by your competitors have received good engagement rates. 

Do they like something funny? Or is their taste somewhat serious? Maybe they want to see something motivational? 

While this will just give you an idea of their taste, we also recommend testing and measuring. Test our different types of shoppable videos and measure which videos resulted in the highest engagement and conversion rates, drove the most revenue, and added the most on-site time.

With Videowise, you can set up shoppable videos for your eCommerce store and dive deep into their video shopping campaign performance with detailed engagement and conversion reports, enterprise-level data processing, customer journey from view to purchasing, and more. 

This way, you can conduct experiments and make informed data-driven conversions.

The next step in our journey is to create high-quality videos. 

3. Create high-quality and engaging video content

You need videos to set up video shopping on your store. Once you have learned what type of videos your audience enjoys watching, it’s time to produce them. Either you can hire a videographer or agency to shoot product video content professionally, or you can do it all by yourself using your smartphone or camera. 

Producing product videos doesn’t necessarily mean you’re solely displaying your products in action. In all our years in the eCommerce industry, if there’s one thing we’ve learned – it’s that if you want to drive conversions, you need to share a compelling story. 

Create a script. Brainstorm ideas. Don’t ignore the pre-planning process. Create a shot list – where you list down all the shots. Think about the environment and lightning. Pay attention to composition. 

You don’t necessarily need to have one video per product. You can showcase multiple products at once in a single video. Using Videowise’s shoppable functionality, if you have multiple products in a single video, you can ensure that your audience is able to select the product they want to purchase like this – 

Edit them heavily to put the best version in front of your viewers. After all, you want these videos to engage your customers and drive conversions.

Should you decide to implement video shopping using Videowise, we highly recommend diving deep into our FAQs section. 

4. Use an eCommerce video shopping platform like Videowise

Once you have the videos, it’s time to set up video shopping functionality on your store. We’re not asking you to ditch the traditional online shopping way – where your customers browse through different product listings. 

Nope!

Instead, you can allow them to choose the shopping experience they want. If they want to do it the old-fashioned way, that’s great. If they’re looking for a far more interactive experience? Create a “See It In Action” section just like Busy Baby Mat did on their store.

To set up video shopping, you need a shoppable video platform. While there are many platforms to choose from, select a platform that –

• It's easy to set up.

• Has a smooth learning curve. 

• Doesn’t require you to spend a dime.

• Focuses on the user experience – You must ensure that the shopping video functionality doesn’t cause slow loading times and other technical challenges. 

• Has a user-friendly and interactive video player.

• Prioritizes data security – For us, your data is one of our biggest priorities.  

• Allows you to find user-generated content related to your brand and products on social media.

• Provides advanced analytics.

At Videowise, our focus is to help eCommerce stores easily set up shoppable videos and deliver an immersive experience to their customers without worrying about technical challenges and their data. 

We like to let our customers do the talking for us –

Impressed? 

Learn more about Videowise here. 

5. Get the word out

Once you have set up shoppable video functionality on your website, it’s time to get the word count to drive traffic to your website. 

Roll out an email to your email list like this –

You can also share shoppable videos via email to give your customers a taste of what they can expect. 

Promote it on socials in the form of Instagram Stories, Facebook Posts, and in various ways across other social media platforms. Get the word out via SMS. Partner with influencers. Run paid advertising campaigns to target more customers. 

In the initial stages, I recommend testing different types of shoppable videos, measuring them, and identifying the ones that resulted in the highest engagement and conversion rates. Once you know what works well with your audience, you can drive your efforts and money toward it and eliminate the junk.

Talking about measuring, how do you track the performance of your shoppable video marketing efforts?  

6. Measure and optimize

Peter Drucker once said, “You can’t manage what you can’t measure.”

If you’re spending your time, efforts, and money setting up video shopping functionality on your website, you expect higher conversion rates, increased on-site time, and increased sales. 

We understand that you want to drive more revenue.

And while video shopping is a terrific experience for consumers, it’s important you put your best foot forward.

What if a few of your videos don’t resonate with your target audience? Or what if you want to track your customers’ video shopping journey? With Videowise, you can uplift conversions with our platform’s deep video performance insights. From transparent revenue attribution to the in-depth customer journey to enterprise-level data processing, we offer the most in-depth analysis to help them stay on top of their video sales, viewer engagement, audience segmentation, top videos, top pages, and more.

Learn more about Videowise’s advanced video analytics here.

Give your customers the ULTIMATE shopping experience! 

Customers are tired of the traditional online shopping experience. It’s just so confusing. They want more. They want to make the right purchase decisions. Give them what they want by implementing video shopping functionality on your website.

It’s a win-win for both customers and eCommerce stores. 

Learn more about Videowise here.

Also, don't forget to read my article featured on Triple Whale that dives deep into the five proven tips eCommerce stores can implement to max out their conversion rates in 2023.