Do you know what makes a product page highly effective? Or what makes live commerce conversion rate stand out? Here’s a hint – it’s basically the same thing.
Read on if you want to find out what makes both a great product page and a live commerce session succeed.
We will discover the special elements that make live shoppable video highly effective. We will also see that these elements are the same ones that make a product page convert better.
For the traditional eCommerce journey (where we have no shoppable video), we will focus on the product pages. We’ll see how they influence the overall conversion rate. We will see exactly which elements are crucial and why. At the same time, we will also discuss the shopping journey enabled by live commerce. While in a previous article we saw how shoppable video shortens the customer journey, today we will focus on how and why live commerce conversion rate is so good.
Customer journey on an eCommerce platform
As you can see above the traditional ecommerce journey means that:
- from the total visits, 43.8 % view a product page;
- only a third of those (14.5% of the total) add a product to cart;
- finally – only 2.12% of the total visits finish their visit with a transaction. That’s one in seven people that have added something to cart.
Now let’s compare this with a live commerce. Just a short reminder: live commerce means a group of your visitors are watching you (or an influencer) present a product live, in front of a camera. The format allows products to be purchased straight from the video window. This provides a more interactive and fun way to shop.
Here’s the numbers in the live commerce journey:
- from the total views, 70% view a product page (almost twice as many as with traditional ecommerce);
- 10% of all visitors convert to buyers (almost 5 times as much as traditional ecommerce).
Long story short: in traditional ecommerce 2% is considered a good conversion rate. On the other hand, the median live commerce conversion rate is 10%. That’s an amazing 5 times better conversion rate.
You may ask:
Why are shoppable videos so good for eCommerce?
It’s obvious that this difference comes from what happens on the landing page. Also – how do customers address it. In traditional eCommerce the Product Page is where the customer makes the final decision. In a live stream shopping session the Product Page is just extra info. In many cases the customer has already made up her mind while watching the shoppable video.
Don’t get me wrong. A poor experience will definitely dramatically decrease the overall transaction rate. However, when integrated with live commerce, the Product Page becomes the confirmation clients need before checking out. It’s the rational argument that backs up an emotional decision.
Why live commerce adds so much to a great ecommerce experience?
It‘s clear that an engaging live experience, enforced by a state-of-the-art Product Page, skyrockets your sales. To better understand the connection between the two and how this improves online sales, we looked at what experts recommend for a great Product Page. We looked at the best 3 eCommerce platforms (in our opinion) and gathered their recommendations. We wanted to know whether our assumptions were right.
Here are the 5 most important Product Page improvement top experts recommend. These tips come in handy when optimising an eCommerce store, even if you don’t use live shopping. Here goes:
1.Use high-quality images and videos
If you are selling products online, this should be your top priority. High-quality product pictures have a big impact. It’s the only visual refference customers have and we decide with our eyes.
We decide visually. We process (and react to) visual information faster and better than other content formats. 3 out of 4 eCommerce shoppers say that great photos influence their final decision. This makes visuals an essential element in your online sales strategy.
Source: apple.com
Yes, pictures do speak a thousand words.
Incorporating a video in a landing page will increase the conversion by up to 80%. A mix of high-quality pictures and videos will help you increase Product Page conversions. So we encourage you to follow this advice.
Are shoppable videos covering this useful advice? They are actually doing more than just that.
Shoppable video creates an engaging experience that mixes commerce and entertainment into an unforgettable shopping journey. During the session, viewers have the chance to see products from different angles and to see them handled live. It’s just something pictures and short videos cannot offer.
Landing on the product page from a live video experience is an amazing way to improve imagery on your store.
2. How customer testimonials add up to the live commerce conversion rate
9 out of 10 shoppers read online reviews when they start gathering information about a product they want to buy. But they don’t just read them. Positive reviews will also encourage them to take action. What your customers say about your products is more important than what you say about them.
Why do testimonials and reviews work? Customer testimonials act as social proof. This is a psychological trigger that makes us assume the historic actions of others are the right thing to do. Basically we’re wired to do what others have done and found useful. It doesn’t matter how independent we think we are. The actions of our community affect our decision.
“As can be predicted by Tan and Thoen’s model, when the product price is high touch with a high price, the personal threshold of trust required to enable a purchase would be higher as well. We assumed that in these cases, testimonials would play a more central role in enabling a purchase. This is because, in these cases, the testimonials would raise the level of trust beyond the personal threshold required to decide to purchase a product.”
Source: The Impact of Testimonials on Purchase Intentions in a Mock E-commerce Web Site – A Spillinger
We understand now why testimonials are important and how they work for eCommerce websites. But how are they integrated into a live stream shopping session? And how could it add extra value to your Product Page testimonials and increase your live commerce conversion rate?
One of the benefits of using shoppable video is that it allows you to connect with your community, in your online store. It basically creates your own social media channel, embedded into your platform. The live comments of your community are not just any kind of testimonials. They are live testimonials, shared by a real person at the perfect moment: when the purchasing decision is made.
A customer that lands on your product page straight from a live shoppable video has already gathered the social proof needed to finalise the transaction. The testimonials on the product page will act like o confirmation.
3.A FAQ Section is crucial for your online presence
Customers like to buy from live shopping sessions because they can ask product-related questions live. And most importantly, they receive the answers on the spot.
85% of online shoppers said they have at least one question they need to find an answer to before buying. A well crafted online store needs a section where you answer frequently asked questions. This will save you time, identify you as an expert, and build trust amongst your customers. To make the most from this section, make sure you answer real questions asked by real customers. It’s much more valuable.
How can a live video commerce session add value to an existing FAQ section? Live commerce has a very powerful social component – it encourages viewers to interact with each other and with the presenter(s). At Streams.live, we took this social component one step further, knowing the importance of answering the right questions, at the right time. We have a chat option, used for people to interact and share impressions, and a Questions feature. What makes this feature different? The fact that each question can be upvoted (or downvoted) by the rest of the viewers.
Questions can make or break your live video commerce session
The question with the most upvotes will be displayed first. The system rightfully sees it as the most important one, as other viewers backed it up. What does this mean? It means that by answering one question, you actually help not just the person that asked it, but your other viewers as well. The system will help you out by sorting the most important questions. These are the ones that most of your viewers want answered.
By activating the chat and Questions feature, and by answering your viewers’ questions, you will help them make a decision. This way – they don’t have to look at the FAQ section to see if their questions have already been addressed. You accelerate the momentum. After a customer finds the answer she was looking for, the next step will be to go to the product page and purchase the product.
This is how Live Stream Shopping addresses one of the most important sections on your Product Page. By answering the questions live, when it matters the most, you encourage viewers to take action. Of course, you need to have a comprehensive FAQ section on your website – not all of your questions will be addressed during a live session. And some customers will land on a specific product page without seeing your live performances.
We can see again how a live video shopping experience solves some of the most important issues in eCommerce: Questions and answers.
Next up:
4. Have a Clear Call to Action
Number four on the list is a clear Call to Action. You can have all the elements put together in the perfect order on your product page. If customers can’t see what they need to do to buy your products… they won’t buy them.
Source: Alohas.io
Here is a great example from Alohas. As you can see, once you land on the Product Page, you are guided through your next action. The page is built so that above the fold (the section of the web page you first see) shows great pictures of the product, the price, and a clear Call to Action. You can either add the product to the cart or pay for it. As seen in the picture, the default payment option is PayPal. But the company accepts other payment options and this information is visible right under the buy button. It can’t be missed.
Having in-depth integration, customers can add products to the shopping cart straight from the live shopping experience. With a lighter integration, they will first go to the product page and then add the product to cart. In this case, the call to action from the video experience and the one on the product page work hand in hand.
A live stream shopping session offers customers a way to buy products straight from the live video. At Streams.live, we went one step further. When having video sessions that showcase multiple products you can use the bump feature to showcase them one by one. When bumped, a specific product will be available through an extra layer, making it easier for customers to buy it on the spot. You can check it out below:
Live shopping session with a “bumped” product
5. Use relevant content and make it sound real
The 5th tip is … make your content human. Yes, on-page SEO is important, but don’t forget your content is read by humans like you and me. Unless you’re a robot, in which case – hello Google.
It may sound complicated to squeeze all the product features in one page, optimize the content for search engines AND make it readable for your customers. But it’s not impossible. Actually – it’s recommended. Customers buy your products but first they buy your brand and your story. Search engines are now advanced enough to understand content like humans do. So it’s not one or the other. Good search content is now content that is also engaging for real life customers. Show who you really are when engaging your customers.
A live video session is the perfect chance to show the real you. It’s an authentic experience, and authenticity is essential when in today’s ecommerce. 90% of surveyed consumers say that authenticity is important when deciding which brands they like and support. One of the main reasons why live commerce conversion rate outperforms traditional eCommerce is exactly this. The unedited experience is more credible.
Conclusion
We discovered what are the 5 key features that make a great ecommerce store great. We’ve also found out that all these features are essential parts of live commerce. That’s why the live commerce conversion rate is 5 times higher than the usual ecommerce conversion rate.
Just to recap, live commerce:
- is visually attractive
- helps attract live customer feedback and live testimonials
- can surface relevant customer feedback and questions
- features a clear call to action focused on buying
- features relevant and authentic content
