WHAT IS SHOPPABLE?

Shoppable content is a form of interactive content which encourages a purchase from your business directly through the content itself. This can be purchasing an item from your latest summer collection, or booking a room in your hotel.

Familiar with Black Mirror’s Bandersnatch episode? That’s a prime example of interactive content, where the content viewer gets to directly interact with the video and play a key role in the untying of a story.

Gone are the days where you will be browsing through an editorial in a magazine, think to yourself “I want that”, only to go to the brand’s website and not find the item. Shoppable brings a whole new dimension to content, where it is no longer just nice to look at, but interactive in the way that viewers can directly purchase from it. Every marketer’s sales goal.

WHY YOU SHOULD BE CONSIDERING SHOPPABLE CONTENT

Ease of purchase is becoming more and more crucial with brands, apps and shopping platforms making it easier than ever to check out in just one tap. Although the concept of shoppable content has been around for months now, a game changing event is taking place that will bring shoppable to the next level. Instagram are gradually rolling out their Checkout feature, which is a seamless, in-app feature that enables Instagrammers to make a purchase from a piece of content, without ever leaving the Instagram app. Ultimately this will question the need for ecommerce businesses to even have a website. Save your payment and billing details once directly in the Instagram app, and the array of participating brands over the whole platform is your oyster! Expect those late-night online shopping sprees to escalate to a whole other level… Checkout has been rolled out in beta to a select number of brands on March 19th, including but not limited to:

Oscar de la Renta
Adidas
Burberry
Michael Kors
Mac Cosmetics
Anastasia Beverly Hills

Fashion and cosmetics brands have been the first to test shoppable content, setting the trend for other industries to follow.

AN INNOVATIVE WAY TO ENSURE ENGAGEMENT  

Video consumption is on the rise and will only keep growing. Video is set to account for more than 80% of all web traffic this year, and it has been found that marketers who use it grow revenue 49% faster than those that don’t. There’s therefore a need to achieve cut through with innovative content brands are putting out, and interactive video content in general boasts higher engagement rates than traditional video. This means content can no longer be informational but must fully engage the viewer by enabling them to interact with the video. Placing tags in interactive content with the appropriate technology can also help brands understand how consumers use their content, tracking clicks, non-paid traffic and conversions.

HAVE YOU HEARD OF BLACKWIRE?

The love child of Studio Black Tomato and interactive tech leaders, WIREWAX, BLACKWIRE is a new interactive video service destined to lead the way in luxury branded content. It is here to transform our compelling video content with another layer of immersion.

The live interaction that BLACKWIRE offers not only brings brands to life but is proven to double dwell time and produce more memorable long-term results than the short-term benefits associated with a traditional video. Live hotspots throughout video will allow viewers to immerse themselves with actions such as switching camera views, uncovering real-time insight, booking, buying, or even determining the video’s outcome. BLACKWIREgrants brands a more subtle, authentic marketing approach. It enriches content and ignites interest, rather than trying to control the user’s experience.

By Lucy Lowther – PR & Marketing Manager at Studio Black Tomato