It’s not quite a trend yet, but it’s a beginning. In search of the Holy Grail of effective customer engagement, one that increases the chances of a purchase, a couple of Indian brands have experimented with interactive/shoppable videos over the last few months. The first one was Fastrack, which launched what it called an ‘interactive shopping video’ in November 2014. At any stage in the video, Space Knights on Fastrack , one could click on the watches and the other accessories the brand sells, such as the sunglasses and helmets, be led to the brand’s e-commerce portal and buy them online. Or they could continue entertaining themselves with the 4-minute film that has a catchy song written and composed exclusively for it.

The other one is a TV commercial that Supari Studios made for Godrej Nature’s Basket that launched recently. For the chain of speciality food stores, it’s a business imperative to cash in on viewers’ impulses that might evaporate when there’s no Buy button, when their immediacy is lost.

Google’s Micromoments research reveals that a lot of the answers people are looking for on the Internet, are “purchase-intent” answers, says Advait Gupt, co-founder, Supari Studios. These are ‘time-for-a new-one’, ‘is-it-worth-it’, ‘let’s-celebrate-this’ moments and more such, and the smartphone is the instrument enabling the solutions.

Globally, 56 per cent of YouTube users view videos on their smartphones. YouTube launched a ‘shoppable card’ in videos six months ago (visible as an ‘i’ enclosed in a circle at the top right corner). Clicking on it takes viewers to an advertiser’s site where they can buy the products seen in the video. “This button is much bigger on the phone screen than it is on the desktop,” says Advait Gupt, explaining that these are all reasons why TVCs now are being optimised for the smartphone.

Apart from YouTube, Facebook has launched shoppable videos on Instagram, and Adobe has launched software that can be used to produce them. Outfits that make them are getting venture funding too. The time spent on video online is rising, according to various surveys.

YouTube, Gupt says, is optimised for India, a market with low bandwidth. It is such infrastructure challenges that have hindered the rise of shoppable videos. This type of advertising is also fragmented, in that shoppable videos can be launched on a medium such as YouTube, or on a microsite, like Fastrack did, or on a web page. As there is no single platform on which they exist, adoption could take time as users are not familiar with one standardised shoppable experience.”

Fastrack’s marketing head Hemal Panchamia says their video stemmed from two things. One, it was a means to show off the latest collection in all the categories they sell – and it’s not possible to advertise every collection on a mass medium. Two, they did not want their brand to be in customers’ faces. “Any brand which does hardsell today falls flat on its face. Sales will happen automatically when you’re a part of your customers’ lives,” he says.

Interactivity, not sales, was the primary objective in their case, even if it cost several crores to make the film, filmed in South Africa.

And they hit their targets on that score, he says.

The downside, though, is the seasonality attached to categories such as fashion. After it runs its course, the products may not interest customers, or will go out of stock. Another is having to contend with the reality that the customer, despite being entertained by the video, does not want to loosen his purse strings. But it was a risk worth taking, says Panchamia, adding that they are now thinking of smarter ways to repeat this success without having to spend so much as it won’t be viable to sustain.

Even in the technologically advanced West, shoppable videos, made mostly by fashion brands, are still in the experimental stage as there are questions about viewer experience and impact on sales.

Advait Gupt says shoppable videos would work well for impulse buys such as food, make-up and other FMCG products, but not so well for high-value goods such as cars, or categories such as electrical goods.

And what should marketers consider when they are making shoppable videos?

Akshat Gupt, Co-Founder and Director, Supari Studios, says the phone should be the central character and the rest of the elements should be positioned around it to ensure a smooth viewing — and clicking — experience.

“Make sure the call to action is very clear,” says Advait Gupt. Nothing should interfere with the consumer’s experience of clicking on the link to the advertiser’s site. Inventory management is important. Marketers should focus on products that have a long shelf life. The longevity of the content should not exceed that of the products themselves.

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