The recent economic downturn may be taking its toll on the high street, but not online. eMarketer predicts that total UK business-to-consumer online sales will be worth £68.4 billion in 2009, a 14% increase over 2008. With e-commerce revenue remaining strong, sales are there to be won. So, how can your store stand out from the crowd in order to win new customers?

Thanks to online video sharing websites such as YouTube, Hulu, BBC iPlayer (and legions more), watching videos over the web is second nature to a majority of internet users. Retailers, however, have not yet seized opportunities to incorporate videos into their online stores.

Using Videos to Drive E-commerce Sales

With video almost commonplace throughout the web, surfers are becoming accustomed to a richer media experience. Google recently purchased YouTube for over $2 billion because Google knows that videos are key to the future of online marketing.

Currently, consumers view over 14 billion videos every month, spending 49% more time per viewer watching them than they did last year. It isn't surprising then that videos are transforming how web content is consumed.

The following are some cost effective ideas for retailers who want to use video to attract, engage and convert more customers on the run up to Christmas.

Start With the End in Mind

As with any online marketing activity, establish what your objectives are, then proceed with them in mind. Your videos could be used in the following ways:

• For product demonstrations – so much more can be conveyed in a simple, 60-second video than a page full of text and images.
• a short, concise introduction to your online store, helping to put a face (and personality) to your website in seconds and putting shoppers immediately at ease.
• provide product training – if your products are technical, a 2-3 minute video can help put shopper minds at ease and drive traffic to your site for information purposes, giving you a decided edge over your competitors.
• To illustrate product quality – videos are the best way to demonstrate product quality online. While a list of features is great, actually watching how your products fulfil customer expectations is even better.
• To introduce and review new products – sharing your knowledge of the latest and greatest products to hit the shops helps demonstrate your expertise and lets shoppers know where to come for the best value.

Once you know how to use videos for your e-commerce site, the next step is preparing the appropriate video footage.

Personality over Perfection

Try not to get too hung up on creating perfectly produced videos. Remember, some of the most popular videos shared amongst web users are done by true amateurs. Your message is the key factor to success with your company's online videos.

Consumers inherently trust opinions and feedback from other consumers. You may want to consider running a competition that encourages user-generated video content. User-created videos offer a win-win situation – you get some great video footage and product endorsements, and your site visitors get some entertaining product videos.

It's All in the Numbers – Review Response Rates

As with any marketing initiative, try to build in a way to measure the effects of your videos. Tracking response rates can help you test the waters before allocating additional resources to roll videos out across all your product lines.

In conclusion, the financial climate may be causing shoppers to count pennies, but millions of people are still likely to spend a greater proportion of their budgets on the web. Using videos to help sell your products not only gives your consumers a richer media experience on your site, it also helps your company stand out from the crowd – ultimately winning you a greater portion of the lucrative Christmas spend. If you would like help adding videos to your website, call us today on xxxxx-xxxxxx.