Adobe's new interactive shoppable video experience

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By 2019, video is set to command an estimated of 80 per cent of all Internet traffic. To leverage this proliferation of video consumption, Adobe is integrating a new shoppable video platform in a bid to enhance the next generation in digital consumer interaction.

Speaking at the Adobe Symposium in Sydney, senior director of strategy and product marketing, Loni Stark, said that while 90 per cent of purchases in Australia happen in person, 40 per cent is influenced by digital. The impact of video on purchasing behaviour is particularly prevalent in millennial shoppers, with one in three millennial consumers watching video tutorials before actually making a purchase, she claimed.

“With the younger generations, video is becoming a critical part of their online and digital content consumption,” she said. “There’s a real opportunity, whether it is pure online commerce or brick-and-mortar shops, to deliver great digital experiences.”

With brands spending a lot of money on this area in the last few years, Stark’s team were asked to find more ways to gain more value from video content within its Experience Manager platform. Experience Manager allows brands to manage all digital experiences, including video, website, mobile app and digital asset, customer community and document management. It is part of Adobe’s wider Marketing Cloud stack.

Shoppable interactive videos are a cloud-based capability within Experience Manager that allows non-technical people to add a layer of interactivity to new and existing video content. This functionality allows purchasers to link directly from video content to product information tab and purchase that item.

The new functionality is another example of the increased integration Adobe is seeking to provide between its Marketing Cloud suite and its Creative Cloud offering.

“Not only do we store and deliver marketing videos, we also allow for production and optimisation,” Stark explained. “A lot of videos are created in the Creative Cloud; they’re stored and managed in terms of metadata, and collaboration for video review and approval. We also support the delivery of them through responsive mobile devices.”

According to Stark, Adobe is already working with several retailers to add interactivity to their websites to boost conversion and cross-sell opportunities. The shoppable video experience has also gained interest from the financial services industry, home improvements and electronics sectors, as well travel and hospitality.

“The difference between shoppable video and just providing a link is that it doesn’t disturb the video viewing experience as you get this overlay with this information,” she added.

Adobe recently conducted a study with 50 businesses in order to improve the usability of what is out on the market in comparison to what the new platform is delivering. The study found respondents preferred an interactive ‘scroll’ rather than ‘hotspots’ directly on the video image content that changes as the image is playing.

“The fact is people are just more used to watching video now,” Stark continued. “It’s more exciting and more engaging. So whether you’re binge watching your favourite show or you’re watching something from a brand, it is that trained idea of watching something just that more exciting. Why watch just a static image, when you can watch something so dynamic. And that’s what is driving this need towards interactive video.”

The new shoppable video platform will be available from August.

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