When Heinz garnered over 350,000 views and massive engagement on its 23-minute Halloween special Livestream, CPG brands across the globe took notice of the power of experiential shopping. Today, with more and more businesses going digital, there is a growing need for online shopping experiences to be fun, experiential, and humanized. Consumers are increasingly seeking engaging and interactive ways to shop online.
Consumers expect convenient, personalized online retail experiences. Brands that can deliver on these expectations, are going to ace ‘shoppertainment’.
What is Shoppertainment?
Lazada, a Southeast Asian e-commerce company, coined the term “shoppertainment.” It combines the words “shopping” and “entertainment,” and refers to the concept of using interactive and engaging experiences to entertain customers while they shop.
Shoppertainment is a retail marketing strategy that aims to create a fun, enjoyable, and engaging shopping experience for customers that will encourage them to return to the (online or offline) store and share their experience with others.
In online retail, shoppertainment is the convergence of live streaming, entertainment, and commerce.
Why is Shoppertainment Gaining Popularity in eCommerce?
Shoppertainment is an experiential marketing strategy and is rapidly gaining popularity in eCommerce. Here are five key benefits that shoppertainment brings to the table:
Increased customer engagement and loyalty
By creating a fun and memorable shopping experience, customers are more likely to return and recommend the eCommerce store to others.
Differentiation
In a crowded and competitive online marketplace, shoppertainment can help retailers differentiate themselves and stand out by creating enthralling customer engagement moments through live experiences.
Improved brand image and reputation
A positive shoppertainment experience can foster a sense of personal connection in the online world.
Increased traffic and sales
With flash sales, diversified campaigns, product launches, and deal drops powered by live-stream shopping campaigns, brands can capitalize on the buzz around experiential shopping and supercharge sales and boost website traffic.
Greater customer insights
By collecting customer data and feedback through shoppertainment experiences, retailers can gain valuable insights into their customers’ preferences and behaviors, which can inform future marketing and customer engagement strategies.
How To Bring Shopertainment to Your eCommerce Website?
Here are ways in which brands can bring shoppertainment to life in their eCommerce stores to make the shopping experience more convenient and engaging for customers.
Interactive shoppable videos
These are videos that allow customers to click on items within the video and purchase them directly from the retailer.
Spread The Love leverages stoppable videos to drive engagement and boost sales
Example: Spread The Love, a family-owned superfood company, used shoppable videos and livestreams to turn traffic into engagement and engagement into conversion.
By sharing their brand story and showcasing new products through shoppable videos, Spread The Love was able to increase time spent on their site by over 250%.
Livestream shopping
This involves using live streaming to showcase products and allow customers to interact with store representatives and purchase products in real-time.
Gucci, a luxury brand, leverages livestream shopping to create engaging customer experiences
Example: Gucci is a well-known fashion and lifestyle brand on a global scale. It was the first premium company to use livestream shopping platform. It also introduced Gucci aLive, a video shopping interface.
Augmented reality elements
Retailers can use augmented reality (AR) to create interactive and immersive experiences for customers, such as allowing them to see how products would look in their homes before purchasing.
Example: Ikea is an eCommerce furniture and home goods store. They have an app called “Ikea Place” that allows customers to use AR to virtually place furniture in their home to see how it looks and fits.
The app uses AR technology to accurately depict the size and scale of the furniture in the customer’s space, allowing them to get a realistic preview of what the furniture will look like in their home.
Contests/Gamification
Retailers can use gamification to make the shopping experience more interactive and engaging, such as by incorporating contests and elements of rewards into the shopping process.
Example: Sephora is a cosmetics retailer that has a mobile app called “Sephora to Go” which includes a feature called “Spin to Win.” In the “Spin to Win” game, customers can spin a virtual wheel to win discounts, free products, or other prizes.
To play the game, customers must first make a purchase through the app and then spin the wheel. The prizes available include discounts on future purchases, free samples of makeup or skincare products, or exclusive experiences.
Trivia & quizzes
Retailers can use trivia and quizzes to engage customers and provide them with a fun and educational shopping experience. This experience also encourages them to spend more time on the app and potentially making more purchases.
Example: Amazon has an “Amazon Quiz” feature available through its mobile app in India. The Amazon Quiz is a daily trivia game that allows customers to win prizes by answering questions. The questions are typically related to current events, popular culture, or Amazon products.
To play the quiz, customers simply need to open the Amazon app and navigate to the quiz section. They can then answer the questions and see if they have won a prize. Prizes may include Amazon gift cards, electronics, or other products.
Wrap up
Shoppertainment is a retail strategy that aims to create an engaging, entertaining, and immersive shopping experience for customers. It combines elements of shopping and entertainment and commerce to create a memorable and enjoyable experience for customers.
The goal of shoppertainment is to differentiate a retailer from competitors, increase customer loyalty and satisfaction, and ultimately drive sales. Some retailers have implemented shoppertainment successfully, while others have struggled to effectively balance the shopping and entertainment elements.
To ride the growth wave in 2023, retailers need to focus on shoppertainment to build sustainable and profitable brands.
FAQs
What is shoppertainment?
Shoppertainment is a combination of shopping and entertainment that creates an interactive and engaging experience for consumers.
How is shoppertainment transforming global ecommerce?
Shoppertainment is transforming global ecommerce by creating a more immersive and personalized experience for consumers, leading to increased engagement, loyalty, and sales.
What are some examples of shoppertainment?
Examples of shoppertainment include live shopping events, gamification, virtual try-ons, and augmented reality experiences.
How can brands benefit from incorporating shoppertainment into their ecommerce strategy?
Brands can benefit from incorporating shoppertainment into their ecommerce strategy by increasing brand awareness, engagement, and sales. Shoppertainment can also help brands differentiate themselves from competitors and build a stronger relationship with their audience.
How does video commerce enable shoppertainment?
Video commerce providers, like Firework, facilitate shoppertainment by allowing brands to showcase their products in an interactive and engaging way. Video can be used to demonstrate product features, showcase the product in use, or create a virtual try-on experience. By using video, brands can create a more immersive and personalized shopping experience for consumers, leading to increased engagement, loyalty, and sales.
