Emerging technology is constantly changing, opening new paths for brands to truly connect with consumers. With the rise of shoppable media, augmented reality, voice services, wearables, mobile wallets and chatbots (the list goes on), brands are seeking new and interesting ways to enhance the consumer experience.

Shoppable Media: In the Moment

There’s a constant race to accurately connect marketing to sales, and shoppable media provides another avenue for brands to do just that. In-platform shopping provides a new touchpoint that can drive sales while shortening the consumers path to purchase. We know consumers are more apt to purchase in the moment rather than being redirected to an external environment. Interactivity can turn passive users into engaged ones and engaged consumers into brand loyalists.

What’s Working

The number of shoppable advertising units available is growing across all mediums. While technology like VR/AR came out in a limited and linear sense, primarily impacting gaming, shoppable media opportunities are robust, particularly on social media. Retail brands, of all kinds, can easily bridge this gap with visually appealing shoppable ads that are easily swiped through on mobile devices. With the evolution of shoppable ads, influencer integrations may chance, too, to account for this new medium.

At its current infant stage, shoppable media supports categories beyond what you’d expect from a new emerging technology. CPG, a rather predictable segment based on habits and trial, can even leverage shoppable content. For example, Amazon Fresh brilliantly partnered with Meredith Corp. to make recipes shoppable with CPG items directly added to a cart to be purchased. And in addition to static shoppable ads, shoppable video is also making its mark. Brands like Hulu allowed viewers to watch a movie preview and then buy tickets to that movie with their remotes. 

Traditional broadcast still has a perception of drawing only awareness and lacking deeper analytics tied to sales. Advanced TV is growing in scale and on the cusp of changing that by bringing shoppable content to premium networks. A simple example is the ability of “New Girl” fans using the Fox Now iPad app to buy items seen in the sitcom.

This capitalizes on consumers habits to use multiple screens while viewing TV and enables TV advertisers to be one step closer to a sale. Another interesting partnership merging multiple emerging technologies is Univision partnering with ACTV8me allowing viewers to send offers directly from TV or radio broadcast to their mobile wallets. Trade publications have already created another buzzword for this action: T-commerce.

Applying Shoppable Media to Your Business Strategy

So, how can shoppable media go from a concept to a reality for brands? 

• Treat shoppable media as content providing value to consumers rather than as a direct response tactic.

• Emotionally connect through the creative, serving timely content that capitalizes on relevant cultural trends.

• Stay on brand and ensure executions are seamless with other owned and shared channels such as retail, website and customer service.

• Get tracking and tagging in order and tied to CRM when possible to obtain a full understanding of results and implications.

Technology impacts all of our lives, both marketers and consumers alike. The future of shoppable media is about as predictable as the weather or the stock market. But with this new way to connect, we’re seeing advanced targeting capabilities that tie customer data from brick and mortar stores, to e-commerce, to CRM/loyalty and beyond to these new shoppable environments for brands to truly understand the short and long-term business impact.