Shoppable videos are videos that can be purchased by viewers rather than uploaded automatically. This is a big change for YouTube, as until now it has been mainly a site where users can upload and share videos without worrying about monetization. Now, with the launch of Shoppable Tours, YouTube is becoming even more interactive and engaging for viewers.
The market for shoppable video has exploded in recent years, with startups like Cinematique and Clideo gaining some attention from investors. These businesses create content videos that are meant to be watched on a mobile device while shopping. Kahani is an interesting newer player in the space that hasn’t been as well-covered by the media, but its concept of content videos for e-commerce brands can certainly be considered adjacent to shoppable video.
Videowise believes it has developed the next big thing in e-commerce, with its video platform that offers a one-stop shop for buying and watching videos online. The company has pedigree: Claudiu Cioba, a product designer who came to the United States from Romania in 2021, founded Videowise with the intention of making buying and watching videos online more accessible. So far, Videowise’s well-designed platform seems to be resonating with shoppers; the company now has $3 million in cash on hand. With such early success on its side, Videowise should be well on its way to becoming a dominant player in this ever-growing industry.
Video gaming has increasingly become a popular pastime for adults and children alike, with dedicated platforms like Twitch becoming increasingly popular. However, the market for gaming content creation is relatively untapped. Videowise plans to address this by creating a platform that helps game developers monetize their content and distribute it more broadly. With this new investment, the company hopes to grow its user base and extend its reach into new markets.
Cioba has realized that one of the most important factors for driving sales is a high conversion rate. Often times, founders underestimate the importance of this metric and neglect to focus on it in their product designs. By focusing on increasing conversion rates, Cioba has seen success in his own entrepreneurial journey.
If you can create a product that can affect the bottom line of these e-commerce operators, you could find product market fit quite easily. Cioba points out that many of these companies are looking for new and innovative ways to grow their businesses, which means there is a good chance your product could be popular with them.
Since video consumption and creation on sites like TikTok and Instagram exploded during the worldwide pandemic, many ecommerce brands were unprepared for the shift in how consumers were consuming media. With little to no customization ability, these brands found themselves struggling to keep up with the trends. However, as the global pandemic slowly came to an end, more traditional ecommerce platforms began to emerge and compete with newer, more creative video formats that better represented their brand values. Whether it be through unique comedic sketches or heart-tugging content about personal journeys, viral videos are proving to be a powerful way for merchants to connect with their customers on a more personal level.
The launch of Videowise’s product in 2022 was met with praise from online retailers and direct-to-consumer brands for its ability to manage and publish videos, on an unlimited number of product pages, collection pages or blogs. This innovative platform allowed retailers to break away from the traditional one video per page approach and create engaging content that reaches a wide audience.
Videowise is a video-sharing platform that focuses on delivering fast and easy streaming experiences for its users. By automating and monitoring the player’s performance, Videowise is able to deliver loading times up to five times faster than traditional video players. This allows user to enjoy their videos with minimal interruption. Additionally, Videowise offers swipe-up playlists that allow users to easily browse through curated collections of videos.
Videowise is a video player that integrates with Shopify, making it possible for merchants to sell products and services directly to customers through video. Cioba says that the company has generated over $1 million in added revenue from purchases happening straight in its video player and driven over $25 million in revenue at conversion rates of up to 328%. She suggests that merchants take advantage of Videowise’s integration capabilities if they want to drive more sales through videos.
After switching to Videowise, Dr. Squatch saw a significant increase in revenue per session. Their user base enjoyed the new accessibility and convenience of the platform, resulting in an impressive 3.2% bump in business overall. This renewed faith suggests that Videowise will continue to be a valuable tool for small businesses looking to take their marketing efforts up a notch.
Shopify, the e-commerce platform, has just received a hefty funding from Cerberus Capital Management. The investment values the company at $2 billion. Along with this new capital, Shopify is looking to add more employees and continue developing their technology stack with a focus on omnichannel video shopping experiences. The company plans to also expand outside of Shopify and is trialing with new Salesforce Commerce Cloud stores. This will allow them to compete more directly against companies such as Amazon and Walmart who have been dominating the e-commerce industry for years now.
With their innovative marketing platform and focus on larger brands, Cioba looks poised for continued growth in 2017. Their recent success in securing investment shows that they are onto something big, and they continue to push boundaries with new features and integrations that other startups cannot match.
