Streaming Platforms Step Up Push for Shoppable Integrations

As streaming services look to drive revenue, shoppable integrations are popping up in everything from mobile games to advertising breaks.

As a recent Bloomberg report points out, Amazon Prime Video, which introduced advertisements in the United States on Monday (Jan. 29), has the advantage over other streaming services of owning a massive eCommerce marketplace, making it possible to shorten the path from viewing the ad to purchasing the product — one step closer to shoppable TV.

In fact, Amazon has already tried out similar integration, not for advertisements but for its own content, with its Prime Video X-Ray feature. The shopping capability is currently only available on select titles including “Making the Cut,” “Wonder Woman 1984” and Savage x Fenty, as well as on NFL games through Amazon’s Fire TV device. Its “The Victoria’s Secret World Tour” release, for one, was accompanied by a “Shop the Collection” button embedded in the Prime Video app.

Plus, a report earlier this month revealed that considering new ways to generate revenue from its gaming division, considering introducing in-app purchases, charging for more sophisticated games or offering access to games with ads for subscribers to its ad-supported tier.

Additionally, Disney+ is reportedly looking into launching shopping on its streaming platform, and last summer, Roku and Shopify partnered to enable Roku viewers to buy goods from Shopify merchants from their TV via shoppable advertisements

Many consumers are open to such experiences. PYMNTS Intelligence’s “How We Will Pay Report: How Connected Devices Enable Multitasking Among Digital-First Consumers,” which drew from a survey of more than 4,600 U.S. consumers, found that 1 in 3 connected device owners reported that they would be interested in the following internet-connected buying experience.

“You are watching your favorite livestreamed series on your iPad or mobile device, and you want to buy an item of clothing or piece of jewelry that you see on one of the actors in the series. You are able to touch the screen to go to the product page and make the purchase.”

Additionally, 5% of consumers who own or have in their home at least one connected device reported that they already do this.

Across industries, key players are looking to step up their contextual commerce efforts, integrating the purchasing journey into consumers’ existing day-to-day routines. For instance, grocery giant Kroger announced last month a collaboration with GE Appliances whereby certain smart ovens’ LCD screens display recipes from Kroger and select consumer-packaged goods (CPG) brands, enabling consumers to buy ingredients directly from the device.

Consumers are increasingly shopping via connected devices. The report “Consumer Interest in an Everyday App,” a PYMNTS Intelligence and PayPal collaboration, which drew on responses from more than 2,200 U.S. consumers, found that, among the 61% of consumers who had shopped for a non-grocery retail product in the previous month, 72% did so via connected device at least some of the time.

As streaming services and other industries embrace shoppable integrations, purchasing products directly from shows and games is becoming a reality.