T-Commerce: shop for anything you see on TV!
Posted on Thursday, September 4th, 2014 by ATC in Industry News with No Comments
In 2015, a large proportion of the revenue for interactive TV channels – besides subscription and VOD – will come from “t-commerce”, with a “t” as in “television”.
With interactive TV, any item appearing on the screen can be made “clickable” and thereby lead to information, a vote or a purchase. Sitting comfortably on the sofa, remote control in hand, the “t-consumer” will be able, in just a few clicks, to buy the clothes, furniture or products appearing among the content that they are watching.
Specifically, channels will combine interactive services (enabling TV viewers to respond to the programme via their remote) with simple and secure electronic payment technologies. Ideally, to maximise instant, emotional, impulse buying, the purchase process will only require a single click, resulting in the cost being added to the monthly bill charged by the TV services provider (like the “kiosk” mode currently offered by satellite and mobile operators) or debited against a credit card that the customer has already registered with the channel.
To make any programme compatible with “t-commerce”, the channel or agency will associate zones of the video, at a given moment in time, with the items or services that they represent. This “tagging” function is already possible on some websites and video sharing sites, but will only become replicable more widely by means of tools capable of automating the indexing process.
The other essential element to enable fast purchasing of products is the creation of a unique user profile that can be kept constantly updated. For the sale of clothes or fashion accessories, the storage of information such as the person’s body measurements, clothes sizes and shoe size will prevent the need for another step or click, and thereby maximise the easiness and the impulsive, spur-of-the-moment aspect of the purchase. Finally, the interactive dimension leaves the user enough choice to ensure there are no negative feelings of intrusion or excessive incitement to buy.
As well as the interesting prospects for monitoring behaviour, “t-commerce” could enable all programmes, old and new alike, to benefit from a phenomenal revenue stream that is normally the reserve of shopping channels. From here on, it’s a smart bet that few channels will be able to resist its appeal.
Clement Charles, CEO & Founder, AllTheContent News Agency
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