How ecommerce stores use product videos made by consumers to drive sales

How do you make an online shopper crave to get a new pair of sports shoes or a brand new blender from your online store? You have to engage their senses. First impressions are everything.

Visual content grabs their attention and takes the visitor from the “just browsing” mood to actively thinking about ordering the product online. Of course, not all visual content is created equal.

To stand out in the noisy world of ecommerce you need to allow consumers to take part in the storytelling. What better way to sell something online than by sharing real-life stories of people who have purchased and enjoyed your products?

Here are a few examples of how savvy online retailers are using user-generated product videos from social media on their sites to inspire purchases and drive sales.

1. Use “how-to” videos to showcase products in use

If you’re running an online store for specialty products, like bespoke shaving kits or power tools for DIY home improvement projects, chances are there’s a bit of learning curve to using your products correctly. The “instructions” section on your product pages is surely useful, but online shoppers won’t be impressed with lengthy product manuals. In fact, this might divert them from placing an order.

What’s the alternative? Show, don’t tell.

How-to product videos are an excellent way to showcase versatile product uses. Consumer-made product videos work even better, because they demonstrate that ordinary people can easily handle your products.

In the example below, online retailer Smooth & Groomed uses user-generated video content curated by Goodvidio that showcases how to do a three-step shave using one of the retailer’s most popular razors. For shoppers who are taking the time to select the right shaving product, these videos give a glimpse of the benefits the classic razor offers, as told by a real-life customer.

There’s no high-cost production behind this video but its authenticity offers far greater value to shoppers — they get to see the product in action and relate to a real-life situation.

In another example, home improvement retailer includes user-generated videos on its product pages alongside brand videos to demonstrate the product in action.

This user-made video is a good evidence that regular consumers can easily use the tools in their everyday DIY projects. This is a strong selling point for any online shopper who might have doubts about their ability to put the product to a good use.

2. Get product review videos as a social proof

Product’s appeal increases when people talk about it. This is even more pronounced in the online setting, where we don’t have a chance to interact with a product directly. It helps see the evidence that other people like us have bought the product, tried it and liked it enough to share their impressions.

Consumer-made videos are a powerful testimonial that a product is worth the hype. Take a look at the example below from an online beauty store.

This video gallery features several review videos made by ordinary consumers, who talk about the qualities that beauty shoppers care about. While product description talks about the “formula without oils and parabens”, the videos point out that the product is long-lasting and will stay on the skin throughout the day, which is far more relatable to regular shoppers.

Considering that it’s a beauty product, it also helps that videos show how it looks when swatched on different skin tones — something that is hard to visualize online, but is very important in the purchasing decision.

Let’s take a look at another example, this time from an online consumer electronics store. This product page features a video gallery with a combination of brand and user-generated videos.

While brand videos offer a very sleek and stylish product presentation that tries to engage with shoppers on an emotional level, the consumer-made video tackles a more practical issue that an ordinary person will face when buying a smart TV — how do you navigate the menu and use the apps?

If you were shopping for a smart TV in a physical store, you’d try to play with the controls to see if the product is the right fit for you. It only makes sense to bring this experience online as well. User-generated content is the simplest and most straightforward way to do so.

3. Use “unboxing” videos to reduce shopping anxiety

We’ve all been there — ordering a product online and then spending a few days in anxiety whether it will arrive true to what we saw on the site. This is one of the reasons why many give up before ever adding a product to the basket — there’s just not enough information to assure that they’ll get what you’re paying for.

Thankfully, online retailers are realizing that much of shopping anxiety can be tackled with consumer-made videos that show what purchases look like in real life. Unboxing videos are an excellent example of a video content that helps assure shoppers that they’re getting what is promised.

Say you’re looking to buy a new pair of sneakers. You found a pair that you like online, but then the doubt starts creeping in. Would the colors be as bright as shown in the pictures? Is the sole as flexible as the description says? Will they be shipped with an extra pair of shoelaces or a dust bag?

In the example below an unboxing video addresses doubts shoppers have about ordering the shoes online. The fact that the video was created by a consumer adds a dose of trustworthiness to the product.

Besides, watching the packaging unwrap builds a bit of a suspense for the viewers, who are pleased to see the product come out of the box “as advertised”. This heightens their desire to experience the same thing as well.

The benefit of the unboxing content is not only restricted to sporting goods. The example below shows unboxing video used by an online retailer selling home appliances — another product category where shoppers often perceive a high risk of ordering online.

Remember, for most consumer product shoppers have a choice to buy from a physical store where they can hold the product in their hands. Having content that ensures product is true to life can mean a big difference in conversions.

Final thoughts

Consumer-made videos offer multiple benefits to online stores, from bringing the authenticity to the shopping experience to reducing shopper anxiety. While discovering, curating and testing videos on your pages might take some effort, it’s time well spent into improving your customer experience. Should you need an automated approach to do this at scale, try this handy tool.

This post was originally published on Goodvidio Blog.