The Japanese e-commerce giant Raktuen recently released a study about the growing importance of product videos in e-commerce. Rakuten, which owns Buy.com and is a major investor in the online marketplace Daily Grommet, took a look at the impact video has on conversion.
More than one out of every four Daily Grommet (slogan: fresh finds, true stories) visitors views videos on the site. And Rakuten found that Daily Grommet customers who view product-related videos are twice as likely to make a purchase. Other e-commerce sites have reported similar spikes in conversion rates.
According to the Rakuten survey, customers were particularly likely to watch video for products that:
- Were innovative or unusual or required additional explanation
- Offered a fresh take on an existing product
- Had functions that could be compared and contrasted
A Rakuten Buy.com spokesman told Content Ping that the company currently has 16,692 videos on its site, nearly one-third of those come directly from BuyTV, a weekly show produced by the Rakuten Buy.com team to showcase the latest products and trends. Additionally, Daily Grommet has approximately 1,000 product videos on its site, which include product reviews and merchant profiles.
“Video reviews and demos are bringing products to life in unparalleled ways for the online shopper,” Mark Kirschner, vice chief marketing officer of Rakuten said in a prepared statement. “As online shoppers continue to benefit from video content, it’ll be increasingly important for retailers to incorporate video in their e-commerce strategy this holiday season.”
You can read the full press release at launch.it.
