The Case For Adding Video To Every Product Page

The power of video for small business has become undeniable.  In an Animoto survey last year, 96% of consumers surveyed said they find videos helpful when making purchasing decisions online. Still not convinced? New data from Liveclicker makes the case not only for having some video on your site, but for incorporating it into every single one of your product pages. Why? Because customers make significantly more purchases when every product page has a video on it.

The Findings

For its latest Video Commerce Report, Liveclicker surveyed 26 of its largest VideoCommerce clients, including Best Buy, Petco, Under Armour and GNC, to find out how video impacts average order value, conversions and revenue.  They found a direct positive correlation between the number of product videos and dollars spent, with sites featuring video on the majority of product pages seeing a 68% larger average order value (AOV) than sites with video on only a few product pages. Companies with few product videos realized an AOV of $177.32, while companies that embraced video on a majority of product pages reached an AOV of nearly $300.

But video isn’t only great for increasing average order value – it’s also great for converting virtual window shoppers into paying customers. 88% of survey respondents reported increased conversions after adding video to product pages.

With stats like these, the effectiveness of video on product pages is pretty hard to ignore!

Why Does Video Work So Well?

“Today’s consumer expects video,” explains Liveclicker. “Video’s ability to engage and convert shoppers makes it a necessary weapon in the modern e-commerce arsenal.” But why does it work so well?

Video allows you to bring your products and services to life in a way that simply isn’t possible through text and photos. With video, you give customers an opportunity to better experience how a product looks and works. Providing a fluid look at a product from different angles and showing a real person putting it to the test not only builds trust and confidence, but also helps to ease any doubts the customer may have about making the purchase.

The videos Zappos includes on their product pages serve as a great example of this. Zappos uses video to give customers a closer look at each pair of shoes they sell, showing what the products look like as someone walks in them, pointing out special features, and often-times throwing in an awesome shoe toss or joke for good measure.

Tips for Success

“While video can drive overall performance,” Liveclicker does point out that “it’s how video is used that makes all the difference between a successful video program and one that falls short.” Before you start throwing videos up on your site helter-skelter, take a moment to check out these tips for success:

• Make sure videos are easy to find. A video that your customers can’t find is no better than having no video at all!
• Offer related videos. Just like you’re probably offering related products on your product pages, offer related videos to keep your customers watching. Need convincing? Liveclicker found that customers that watched 10 or more videos spent 119% more than those that just watched one!
• Keep your videos short. Liveclicker found that the conversion rate of shoppers viewing videos under 30 seconds was 89% higher than those viewing videos longer than 180 seconds. Here at Animoto, we also found that the majority of people (53.3%) think a video should be 60 seconds or less to inform a purchase decision.
• Optimize your video for mobile. In Q2 2014, Liveclicker found that 25% of total e-commerce video plays came from smartphones and tablets and this number is increasing. Make sure these customers can reap the benefits of your video content.

Are you using product videos for your business? We’d love to hear about your experience! Feel free to leave your story in the comments below.

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