The days when e-commerce marketers looked at video as something of an afterthought, a nice bit of flash to spruce up their product pages, are long gone.  A host of research studies have demonstrated convincingly that the use of video—in particular, professionally-produced video—to showcase products and services increases conversion rates and online sales.

Consider these facts, drawn from separate studies conducted by ComScore, Internet Retailer and eMarketer:

• E-commerce site visitors who watch product videos are 64% more likely to make a purchase compared to those who don’t
• 52% of surveyed marketing professionals report that video content has the highest return on investment
• In 2005, 20% of e-commerce marketers used product videos; by 2010, that number had jumped to 73%
• 52% of online shoppers in an Internet Retailer survey reported that watching product videos adds to their purchasing confidence level

Here are 4 reasons your e-commerce website should be using video to push your products:

    1   Video increases conversion rates:  using a video to demonstrate the benefits of your products can boost conversion rates by 30% or more as compared with text and pictures.  That just makes sense:  a video is more interesting and engaging, and can show how your product works, what it does, and how it will benefit your customers.  Conversion rates increase when product videos are professionally-produced.

    2   Videos reduces product returns and customer service calls:  video that demonstrates a product and/or shows you how to use it or assemble it help the buyer understand what they’re buying. When customers understand better what they’re buying, returns are fewer and calls to customer to service are reduced.

    3  Videos drive more customers to your e-commerce site:  smart video increases SEO and search engine rankings for your e-commerce website.  A recent study by Forrester found that web pages which included video were 53 times more likely to make it to the first page of Google search results.

    4   Video expands marketing opportunities:  video is popular and pervasive.  A well-crafted video can be extended to social networking streams, as well as to YouTube, Vimeo and other purveyors of online video.  These can in turn be directed back to your website’s product pages.

    5   Video enhances your mobile marketing efforts:  Last year for the first time, sales of mobile devices like smartphones and tablets outpaced those of PC’s.  Smart e-commerce marketers are utilizing responsive design to appeal to this growing market.  Product videos are ideal for mobile screens, packing a great deal of engaging content and product detail into this smaller space.

Using video to sell your products and services online will boost conversion rates and increase sales.  Equally important, these already-higher conversion rates increase dramatically when product videos are professionally-produced.

For more information on using video to sell your products and services online, contact us today.