Nearly every retail business today boasts an online presence and content platform featuring eye-catching images, informative articles, and product videos. Unquestionably, these businesses leverage shoppable content to educate potential customers on the utility of their products, adding value through meaningful content. This approach establishes trust and converts their audience into loyal consumers. With almost 25% of consumers aged 16 to 64 initiating their product searches on social media, such content is no longer just a perk—it’s an essential strategy for customer acquisition.
Of fact, as effective as content might be, it is not a flawless marketing strategy. Traditional content marketing makes it tough to tie a narrative to a product. In other words, unless consumers can immediately purchase from it, conventional content does not provide a direct, quick sale. This is where the current trend of shoppable content demonstrates its enormous value.
But what exactly is shoppable content? What precisely does it mean for brands? And how do you go about doing it? Let’s find out!
What exactly is shoppable content?
Shoppable content is any online material (such as videos, photos, and articles) that allows users to buy a product instantly by adding it to a basket or navigating to a product page where they may buy the product immediately. This implies that it just takes one or two clicks to get from viewing a product on social media or watching an internet video to purchasing it. In addition, brands can drive more traffic and greater conversions by offering a direct connection from content to basket. The primary distinction between conventional and shoppable content is the presence of product tags in shoppable content. It may be an effective business strategy since it provides a handy way for clients to shop for items.
Types of shoppable content
The following are some examples of shoppable content that may be used to increase sales and turn your viewers into customers.
Videos with purchase options
Video already accounts for more than 69 % of all consumer internet traffic, indicating that video is a powerful storytelling tool that online marketers across industries are leveraging. In fact, 84 % of consumers said they were persuaded to buy a product or service after seeing a branded video. If traditional films have such a powerful impact, it’s simple to understand how interactive, shoppable videos may outperform them. Shoppable videos allow viewers to click on goods in the video to learn more about them or purchase them. This streamlines the product research process and provides customers a smooth experience from inspiration to purchase. Many video sites, like YouTube, have already implemented the shoppable video capability, which you may use by opening a merchant’s account for your preferred platform and browsing the available alternatives.
Social media posts that are shoppable
Customers already browse things on social media channels, making them a great venue for shoppable content. Cart abandonment was previously on the rise due to customers having to be routed from the platform to an e-commerce website, where they had to complete additional steps to make a purchase. With shoppable content on major sites such as Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest, shoppers no longer need to leave the platform. As a result, shoppable postings on these media bring the retailer to the consumer rather than the customer bringing the store to the customer. Consult a digital marketing agency in your city to know more about this feature for your brand.
Shoppable items
Customers may gain a lot of value from well-written articles and blog posts by providing relevant suggestions and guidance to tackle specific difficulties they may be experiencing. To make a blog post or article in a digital magazine shoppable, a “purchase now” button is added to each product image (and even a gif). This allows the reader to instantly add the goods to the cart without interfering with their reading experience. This merges the two processes of shopping and interacting with information, with neither disrupting the flow of the other, and it allows customers who fall in love with any object presented in the article to buy it right away.
Brand Advantages
Shoppable content is reshaping the e-commerce landscape. Moreover, customers are coming to anticipate a simple and uninterrupted purchasing experience that allows them to effortlessly transition from inspiration to purchase, which shoppable content delivers.