And capabilities are moving beyond the screen.
For example, Netflix, which recently announced new offerings within its ad tier, is continually looking for ways to expand its IP. The publisher has already launched several pop-ups, including its first culinary space in Los Angeles, and is creating new in-store expansions through partners including Lacoste and Walmart.
“The content-to-commerce inherent component, I think, is almost the most important thing around the promise of shoppable,” Lanzi said. “There’s the tech part, but then there’s the, ‘I really want to be able to have (that) Emily in Paris outfit, so I can actually buy it in this moment, or I can go to this amazing pop-up and get it then,’ which I think is a new trend.”
Making experiences work for consumers
“Any interaction with a brand can be a shoppable moment,” according to Tim Hemingway, svp, commerce, Havas Media Group.
“In the past, we were looking at this from a standpoint of how do we get them to go from point A to point B to point C, that conversion. And now, we’re pulling it back, looking at it and saying, ‘Hey, let’s allow the customer or the consumer to shop where they want to shop, but allow them to shop in a way that works for them,’” he said.
The simpler that platforms can make it for the consumer to make that decision to purchase, the more likely it’s going to happen.
Tim Hemingway, svp, commerce, Havas Media Group
“Works” is the operative word there, as the quickest way to kill a new technology is a bad experience.
“Experience is everything here,” Metz said. “There’s nothing more annoying as a consumer than a broken shopping experience.”
Unfortunately, there are plenty of opportunities for that experience to break along the way.
Talking shop
Navigating various operating systems is an ongoing hurdle facing shoppable innovation, with different devices all running on different tech. Additionally, fulfillment is an ever-present obstacle, with publishers needing the right partnerships to connect consumers to vendors or seamlessly handle payments.
“Is there an app? Is there a QR code? Where do they have to be to engage with that interaction and make that immediate purchase?” Hemingway said. “The simpler that platforms can make it for the consumer to make that decision to purchase, the more likely it’s going to happen.”
On the publisher side, the two biggest hurdles in shoppable, according to Hamilton, are creating a lean-in experience for viewers in what is typically a lean-back environment and reducing the friction of the funnel to make the purchasing experience as easy as possible.
