Video Commerce, Video e-Commerce or eCommerce Video is the practice of using video content to promote, sell and support commercial products or services on the Internet. The video can be downloaded and played or streamed

Streaming media

Streaming media is multimedia that is constantly received by and presented to an end-user while being delivered by a streaming provider.The term "presented" is used in this article in a general sense that includes audio or video playback. The name refers to the delivery method of the medium rather...

 to the viewer. Either way, the video often contains clickable links which can open up a web page

Web page

A web page or webpage is a document or information resource that is suitable for the World Wide Web and can be accessed through a web browser and displayed on a monitor or mobile device. This information is usually in HTML or XHTML format, and may provide navigation to other web pages via hypertext...

 or a transaction process.

The end goal is to convert a shopper into a customer¹, but conversion is not the only metric as View Through Rate (VTR) is a common measurement². Some merchants realize additional benefit such as Search Engine Optimization (SEO)³. A typical video commerce application would involve a video which contains a number of clickable objects so that the viewer can click on any of those objects for further information or to purchase them. However, the clickable object may not always be within the video itself, but part of the Flash or HTML5

HTML5 video

HTML5 video is an element introduced in the HTML5 draft specification for the purpose of playing videos or movies, partially replacing the object element...

 player used to play back the video.

Video commerce can take place over any Internet-enabled communications device – a Personal Computer

Personal computer

A personal computer is any general-purpose computer whose size, capabilities, and original sales price make it useful for individuals, and which is intended to be operated directly by an end-user with no intervening computer operator...

, a laptop

Laptop

A laptop, also called a notebook, is a personal computer for mobile use. A laptop integrates most of the typical components of a desktop computer, including a display, a keyboard, a pointing device and speakers into a single unit...

, a PDA

Personal digital assistant

A personal digital assistant , also known as a palmtop computer, or personal data assistant, is a mobile device that functions as a personal information manager. Current PDAs often have the ability to connect to the Internet...

, a mobile phone

Mobile phone

A mobile phone is a device which can make and receive telephone calls over a radio link whilst moving around a wide geographic area. It does so by connecting to a cellular network provided by a mobile network operator...

, or a smart phone.

References



1. "Kiddicare pushes the m-commerce envelope with video", Internet Retailer, January 2011

2. "Videos Boost Onlineshoes.com's Conversion Rate", Internet Retailer, February 2010

3. "Merchants Find the Value of Video", Multichannel Merchant, May 2010

4. "How Beauty.com Uses Video to Bring the Online Shopping Experience to Life, eMarketer, May 2010

5. "Blending Video and E-Commerce", Internet Retailer, January 2007

6. "The Metrics for Video Success", Practical ECommerce, March 2010

7. "Moosejaw Adds Video to Its Madness", Internet Retailer, March 2010