How and why retailers should be making the most of video

One of the biggest challengers retailers face in today’s technology tsunami is knowing which technologies are worth investing in, and which are today’s version of the BetaMax.

At Tuesday noon’s breakout session, Craig Wax and Eric Mahlstadt made the case that video is a winner, ‘Video for Retail: Create, Communicate and Convert’.

Craig Wax of Invodo

Craig laid the groundwork by citing a few compelling stats:…in 2010 30% of traffic on the Internet was driven by video…by 2013, Cisco predicts 90% of the Internet traffic will be driven by videos. And what are people watching? Here’s what. According to Craig, one in five Americans have watched the “JK Wedding dance” video.

So if people are watching video for entertainment and news, isn’t it logical that retailers will see video as an essential tool?

Here’s the skinny: video views on retail sites increased 40 percent since 2009 and video works. Someone who sees a video is more likely to buy and less likely to return a product. As Craig explained, 65 percent of us learn visually, while only 25 percent learn by what they hear. So putting sight and sound together just makes sense. Instead of relying on text product descriptions, online retailers can move to videos. Not only do the videos drive conversion, they can also save on calls to customer service centers.

Eric Mahlstadt of Golfsmith also talked about the goals they identified in their plans to add online video. Not surprisingly, the number one goal was conversion. But there were other goals that might not seem so obvious. For example, would you guess that you can improve traffic to your product pages by adding video to them? Golfsmith also wanted video to add to overall customer value and brand differentiation.

Eric Mahlstadt of Golfsmith

Golfsmith’s foray into video obviously paid off. After a period of testing they found a 35 percent conversion rate increase on product pages that featured video. They weren’t shy about putting the video front and center either. As Eric said, they put that “big shiny black play button”  in a prominent location on the product page.

In 2010, Golfsmith saw that Google, via “Google Caffeine” started to put a huge premium on video. In fact, Google is now urging retailers to include a video site map. Doing this pays off with great placement on the search results page. Golfsmith also takes advantage of  social video on Youtube, with links that go right back to product page so a customer can link to buy, which is, “Just another [customer] contact point,” according to Eric.

Given Golfsmith’s successful use of video, Eric offered retailers interested in adding video to their websites some seasoned advice:

Pick your products. Don’t try to put video on every page of your site, but rely on the 80/20 rule and choose your top 20 percent. Those top 20 percent can represent your products with the best sales, or best product margin, or even the most heavily trafficked product pages. Whatever makes the most sense for your business.

Pick more complex products. Why? Because very simple products do not need video as much as the more complex ones. In Eric’s case, he chose video for the product page for a golf bag, and not for a golf ball.

Be wary of product lifecycles. If you have a product with a short season, investing in a video might work too well, and you’ll find yourself out of stock. Not a great customer experience.

Craig summed it up for retailers in the crowd: People are using video all the time, and it works in selling products online (and in brick in mortar stores). Said Craig: “It’s expected, and you gotta have it.”