online retailer’s guide to video merchandising success

7/29/2019 Online Retailers Guide to Video Merchandising Success

1/14

T h e O n l i n e R e t a i l e r s G u i d e t oV i d e o M e r c h a n d i s i n g S u c c e s s

Watch This!


2/14

table of contents

www.invodo.com | 2012 Invodo, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Introduction ............................................................................................

Why Video Matters More than Ever to Online Retailers ....................

Why View Rate Matters .........................................................................

Research Results ....................................................................................

Beyond Merchandising: Solving the Online Retail Video Problem ..

Summary .................................................................................................

Talk to Us .................................................................................................

About Invodo .........................................................................................

References .............................................................................................


3/14

IntroductionIn 2010, we launched groundbreaking research highlighting the

impact of video merchandising on retail websites. It was the first

study of its kind, providing a guide to best practices for brands and

retailers who wanted to increase online retail video views and,

therefore, increase video impact. We at Invodo used this data to

create and implement video strategy for our clients.

However, a lot has changed in a short two years. Do the original

hypotheses still hold, and what has shifted? What new insight is outthere that enables retailers to improve their online video strategy?

We visited data from a subset of Invodo client product pages, and

were pleased to present the results of our updated research.


Watch This


4/14

Before we jump into the research, lets review some tasty third-party statistics toremind ourselves why we should care. Comscore reports that in April 2012,nearly 85% of the US audience viewed online video1, and Cisco claims thatvideo now accounts for over half of all web traffic2.The average viewer watche21.8 hours of video per month, nearly twice the amount as in 20101. Thesenumbers show the rapid shift from the first screen, the television, to otherscreens, including computers, smartphones, and tablets.

Video continues to shine in e-commerce, and was named a key digital trend fo2012 by eMarketer3. 76% of marketers planned to increase their video marketingefforts in 20124, and with good reason: research shows that video works fore-retailers. Consumers who view product videos are 85% more likely to buyaccording to Internet Retailer5. Additionally, numerous sources havedocumented significant conversion rate increases, which can be attributed tothe fact that videos educate consumers with product information andspecifications, engage the 60-70% of shoppers who learn visually or audibly6,reduce cart abandons, and reinforce your brand through increased consumer

loyalty and differentiation. Fewer returns and improved SEO are also clearbenefits7.

Why Video Matters More than Ever

to Online Retailers


Watch This!

IncreasedConversion Rate

Reduced CartAbandonsReduced Returns

Improved SEO


5/14

The key metric here is View Rate (VR). Expressed as a percentage, VR is the rati

of Views (number of video plays) to Impressions (number of pageviews). To

make it very simple, a 5% VR means that if a webpage with a video was served100 times, end users chose to view some portion of the video 5 times.

Assume that a particular product page on your site receives 100,000 hits per

month. The product costs $100 and currently converts at 3%, generating

$300,000 in monthly sales. Lets say that a video is added to the page, and the

conversion rate for video viewers is 6%. Thats a big jump, but it only holds

weight if a significant number of people actually watch. If your VR is 1%, the

products monthly sales total increases to $306,000. However, if the VR is 5%, themonthly sales total increases to $330,000. Thats a compelling difference,

especially when hundreds more product pages are added to the mix. VR has a

compelling effect on revenues site-wide, so its important to make your VRs as

high as possible for the greatest impact.


Watch This!

0% 2% 4% 6% 8% 10%

$60,000

$50,000

$40,000

$30,000

$20,000

$10,000

$0

Higher View Rates Increase Revenue

Why View Rate Matters


6/14

In this study, we reviewed video view rate data over a three month period

between March 2012 and June 2012 from a wide range of our online retailer

clients, including Sports Authority, Verizon, Moosejaw, Lenovo, and many more.

How can an online retailer maximize video View Rate?We tested our hypotheses and found the following results.

Research Results


Watch This!


7/14

Hypothesis 1:

Larger Calls to Action Increase View Rates.

Size Impact on View Rate

Actionable Recommendation: Ensure that your call to action is large enough toattract the consumers eye. Then, make it bigger. It makes a difference.

Calls to action come in many different

shapes and sizes, and can vary widely

based on each retailers preferences. We

thought small CTAs, images less than a

5,000 pixel dimension (if image height x

image width = area), might suffer in

comparison to larger CTAs, but we

wanted to run the numbers to verify or

disprove that claim.

The data confirms the hypothesis. Large CTAs generate a VR of 8.14%, more than doublethat of the 4.07% for small CTAs. This means increasing the size of the CTA makes the single

greatest impact amongst all other hypotheses we tested. Something to consider is that a

smaller CTA often lacks the flair that a larger image has room for they are frequently less

colorful, lack text, and have less detail overall. Well do further research here. Exactly what

makes a larger image so much more successful? Is it really all about the size, or is it some

detail within the image itself?


Watch This!

4.07%

8.14%

Small Large


8/14

Hypothesis 2:

Video above the fold garners greaterView Rates than video below the fold.

The concept of above the fold

originates in the newspaper industry and

refers to the choicest location on the front

page - visible when the newspaper is

folded in half and displayed face up on

the newsstand. In web design, the term

refers to the portion of a webpage that is

visible without scrolling. Of course, the

exact location of the fold differs based

upon browser and monitor resolution. Welooked at websites in 1366x768, 1024x768

and 1280x800 the top three resolutions

according to StatCounter.com which

together comprise 50% of all resolutions

worldwide.

Not surprisingly, this proves true. Video achieves an average VR of 5.24% above the fold,over 1.5 times greater than the 3.43% for video below the fold.

Its important to consider the explosion of smartphones and tablets. Mobile web usage

increased fivefold in the past two years, and now accounts for over 10% of all web traffic 8.

The fold looks quite different on a handheld device than on a computer, and mobile users

fully expect to scroll through webpages. This means that while the fold still matters, the exact

location of the fold is increasingly elastic. Even in the constantly changing scope of the

internet, retailers who place video calls to action above the fold will continue to receive

better view rates and, therefore, more sales.


Actionable Recommendation: Focus on premier placement for your videos bygetting them above the fold.

Watch This!

Above the Fold

5.24%

Below the Fold

3.43%

Placement Impact on View Rate


9/14

Adding video with a text call to action(Click to play, Click to view)increases view rate.

Hypothesis 3:

Impact of Text Call to Action on View Ra

Just as the salesperson bags the deal by

asking for the business, the online

marketer increases conversion by asking

for the click. Thats the idea.

But there are calls to action and calls to

apathy some videos have more than

just a play button, but stop short of an

actionable request. Examples of this

include text that says video or video

here.

The theory holds, with a VR of 6.16% for videos with a text call to action (CTA) versus 4.75%

with an image only. Interestingly, calls to apathy are 12 times less likely to be played than

videos with very clear text CTAs. It seems that a play button is more widely interpreted as an

invitation to watch a video than the simple statement that a video exists.


Actionable Recommendation: When possible, include a text call to action (click toview or similar) with the video player, but take absolute care to affirm that it makesa clear, actionable request.

Watch This!

Video

Click to Play

No Text CTA

6.16

0.50%

4.75%


10/14

Hypothesis 4:

View rate declines with an increasingnumber of elements competing forclicks on the page.

Impact of Competing Elements on View Ra

The common-sense rationale is that clicks are

a zero-sum game: the more elements on a

page that compete for a click, the less often

any one element actually gets clicked. In

analyzing the number of competing

elements, we excluded global headers and

footers since we believe users are focused on

the center of the page if they are actually

interested in the product.

The results of this hypothesis are a little different than we originally expected. Though pages

with fewer than ten elements have the highest VR overall at nearly 6%, it appears that VR

otherwise rises as the number of elements increases. This suggests that online shoppers

choose video when they need help making sense of large quantities of information. We

know that videos convey messages in a simple manner, which ultimately satisfies consumer

cravings.


Actionable Recommendation: Try to incorporate videos on pages with as fewcompeting elements as possible. However, if a significant amount of information isnecessary for a product page, add videos to help visitors make decisions.

Watch This!

6-10 11-15 16-20 21+

7%

6%

5%

4%

3%

2%

1%

0%

4.2

2%

4.3

9%

5.9

7%

5.7

6%


11/14

Beyond Merchandising:

Solving the Online Retail Video Problem

.

www.invodo.com | 2012 Invodo, Inc. All Rights Reserved.www.invodo.com | 2012 Invodo, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

By this point, youre likely to agree that video benefits online retailers, and

that merchandising videos as an integral element of each product page

maximizes those benefits. So what stands in the way of launching a video

program? Adding video requires four distinct competencies: Strategy,

Content, Platform, and Network.

Watch This!


12/14

.


All four elements are needed for a successful eCommerce video program.Successful implementations can lead to higher video view rates and,

therefore, increased conversions and sales.

Strategy- One of Stephen Coveys Seven Habits is toBegin with the End in Mind. Doing so ensures that you

head in the right direction from the outset. When key

stakeholders agree upon what defines success,

alignment with key business goals is maintained

throughout the journey.

Content As with any content marketing initiative, firstconsider the audience, message, and desired viewerresponse. That will help create the roadmap for the type

of content you need. Creating content requires the right

equipment and a substantial degree of expertise. If you

acquire it from third-party sources, youll need to focus on

moderation to ensure a consistent experience and brandmessage.

Network Now that you have your videos, how do youimplement them in a way that strengthens your whole

business? Videos dont have to be limited to the

websites product page. Social, mobile, and email

provide additional reach for your videos. Video can also

be used in-store on monitors and kiosks, as a consumerengagement piece with QR codes and near-field

technologies, or even on a store associates handhelddevice.

Platform How will you host and stream video contentacross your site? Site experience, implementation

flexibility, and SEO should all be taken into consideration

when selecting a platform, but perhaps the most

important thing to evaluate is measurement capability. If

driving increased sales is your primary goal, youll want a

video platform capable of measuring sales and

conversion impact along with customer engagement.

Watch This!


13/14

Summary

Talk to Us

About Invodo

More Questions? Reach us at 1-800-280-4122 or visit www.invodo.com


Video has many clear benefits for online retailers, which are maximized when the video ismerchandised appropriately. Key elements of that merchandising include keeping CTAs

large enough to matter and asking for the click, placing valuable content above the

fold, and understanding the quantity of information on your product pages and

implementing video accordingly. Given its popularity, communication potential, and

attractiveness, video can be expected to outperform text, still images, and other

traditional elements. That leads the savvy online marketer to make video an integral

element on a page.

We hope that you find this information useful, and wed certainly

enjoy your comments and feedback. Get in touch with one of our

experts by e-mailing us at [email protected], calling us at

1-800-280-4122, or commenting on the Invodo blog at

http://invodo.com/blog.

Invodo offers the expertise and tools businesses need to develop and implement a

scalable, high-impact video strategy. Invodos closed-loop video platform is proven to

enlighten customers and influence behavior, leading to higher sales conversion rates,

reduced returns and increased site traffic. The Invodo platform improves production

workflow, enhances SEO and collects integrated analytics to optimize ongoing video

strategy. For more information, please visit www.invodo.com.

Watch This!


14/14

References


1 comScore. comScore Releases April 2012 U.S. Online Video Rankings [Press release]. May 18, 2012.

2 Cisco. Cicsco Visual Networking Index: Forecast and Methodology, 2011-2016. May 30, 2012.

3 eMarketer. Key Digital Trends for 2012. December 15, 2011.

4 Social Media Examiner. 2012 Social Media Marketing Industry Report. April 2012

5 Internet Retailer. Inside Search. March 31, 2010.

6 Carbo, K. Dunn, R. Dunn. Teaching Students to Read Through Their Individual Learning Styles. 1986.

7 eMarketer. Video Usage in eCommerce: The Best is Yet to Come. January 2009.

8 StatCounter. StatCounter Global Stats: Mobile vs. Desktop from Jun 2010 to Jun 2012. June 2012.

Watch This!

online retailer’s guide to video merchandising success

Documents