Example

We joined forces with e-commerce podcast Your Basket Is Empty for their live episode on combining content and commerce. Content is a huge part of the customer journey, despite this, many brands aren’t utilizing content in their commerce strategy.

Defining content

In the context of commerce, content is always present. You can’t sell a product without a description or metadata. Even pricing information is, in itself, content. However, in this piece, we’re defining content as a narrative – the hook that compels a customer to make a purchase. This type of content can be found in blog posts, storytelling across the site, rich media, including imagery and videos, and content that bridges the gap between an e-commerce store and a brand’s social media.

How does content play a role in commerce?

Content drives conversion. While you may boast a flawlessly designed storefront and have all the right technology in place, customers need to understand why they should choose your brand and your product in order to make a purchase. And that’s where content comes in – it focuses on the why.

For example, a brand like TOAST applies content to their commerce successfully. Instead of a traditional grid of products, they use more rich media on their product landing page. Whether that’s large editorial imagery or videos, these content types are helping to tell the story of TOAST and their high-quality, luxury products before the user even gets to the PDP. 

Adapting content for different buying habits

You need to be where consumers are and where you think they will be. This means adapting content for your customers' different buying habits. Consider customers that prefer shopping on mobile apps vs desktop sites, and vice versa. For a makeup brand a long-form “how-to-apply” video might be effective on the Product Display Page for a desktop shopper. This content could be repurposed on mobile into a shorter video seamlessly embedded in an Instagram or TikTok ad campaign.

Live Shopping is another avenue to connect with consumers using content. Once associated with traditional teleshopping, Live Shopping has undergone a transformation on platforms like TikTok, rejuvenating the concept for younger demographics – see our article on live shopping and other social commerce channels. Younger shoppers purchasing behavior is influenced by real-world use, so live content like this enables you to demonstrate how your products look and feel and are used to an audience of shoppers in the place they’re choosing to shop.