Online video was a priority of digital marketing budgets for 67% of senior executives in 2009 (PermissionTV study). This strong focus is fueled by high expectations in conversion increases when offering product videos alongside descriptions.
Everybody agrees that video increases conversion rates. It is a major incentive for our customers when taking advantage of our automated video production platform. When we talk to people about the benefits of video, one question often comes back: How much exactly does video increase conversion?
The truth is, as always, it depends. It depends of the relevance of the video content to the decision the user is trying to make. It depends of how well the video is integrated within the user workflow and pages. It depends of the video distribution strategy. So the best way to set expectations is probably to look around for real-life implementations and results.
We researched that million-dollar question and would like to share the results with you. We found 8 retailers who reported the performance of implementing video to their ecommerce site.
They tell us video works. With an average conversion bump in the range of 30%. And a surprising fact is that best-performing videos are not the most expensive to produce.
Zappos: 6% to 30% conversion increase for products with in-house video
A couple months ago Rico Nasol was interviewed in a panel at the Streaming Media West conference. Zappos is definitely leading the industry in its video efforts, on their way to 50,000 videos produced in-house by the end of 2010. Here’s Rico’s presentation, and a post on ReelSEO about the interview.
EyeBuyDirect.com: 30% conversion increase for products with automated video
Roy Hessel, CEO of EyeBuyDirect, reported a 30% conversion increase with video. What’s particularly interesting is that this performance has been achieved, unlike Zappos, with videos created automatically by animating available product content (images and data). In case you missed it, our automated video platform does just that.
PFI Western: 50% conversion increase for products with in-house video
Jason Arend was another panelist at Streaming Media West. With 2 people dedicated part time to in-house video production at PFI Western, they achieved commendable results with 50% conversion increase, plus multiple cherries on the cake: Video SEO boost, 27% returns reduction, average order value increase, average time on site increase, and return visit increase. Congrats Jason! You can watch his presentation here.
Onlineshoes.com: 19% to 45% conversion increase for products with video
When Onlineshoes.com started experimenting with product videos, they saw right away a conversion bump of 19%. They decided to go full throttle on video, and achieved up to 45% conversion increase with products like FitWiz, reports Peter Leech.
Ebags.com: 138% higher conversion rates on product detail pages when a customer clicks on the video
This stat can’t be compared with the other ones, but it is 1) impressive and 2) very interesting, because it tells us about the impact of product videos regardless of how visible, accessible the video is within the product page.
Clean Air Gardening: 20% conversion increase for products with in-house video
Lars Hundley, president of cleanairgardening.com, reports a 20% increase in conversion for products featuring video presentation, in addition to a reduction in product returns.
Ice.com: 40% conversion increase for products with automated video
Jewelry online retailer Ice.com reports a 40% increase for products featuring short videos generated automatically.
Sellpoint: 35% increase with rich-media products presentation
Sellpoint is one of the leaders of rich-media product showcases, with significant presence on amazon.com and other major retailers. Although not technically video based, the product tours show animated slideshows with voice-overs, with conversion benefits comparable to what can be achieved with video.
We hope these data points will help you get an idea of the returns one can expect using video to drive sales. What’s also interesting is to see how automatically generated video achieves comparable results to in-house produced videos featuring hosts showcasing products. The main difference is obviously production cost. Where ecommerce powerhouses like Zappos dedicate multi-million dollars video production budgets to create tens of thousands of videos, videos generated automatically with the Stupeflix platform cost $1.5 a piece.
