Why Brands Avoid Video on Product Pages (and Why They’re Missing Out)

Customers base their purchasing decisions on a deep understanding of what a product looks like, how it functions, and the benefits it offers. In today's fiercely competitive online marketplace, video stands out as the best way to engage consumers at every step of the buyer's journey. It's the only medium that can truly capture the essence of a product in action, offering customers a realistic preview that static images can’t. And according to Brightcove, 85% of consumers rely on video when shopping online.

But despite its clear advantages, many brands still hesitate to integrate video into their product pages, often wary of production costs, technical challenges, and page-load speed. Let’s take a closer look at these obstacles and discover how effortlessly they can be overcome.

Challenges Faced by Ecommerce Brands

Challenge: Viewer Attention Span

Many brands are concerned that customers won’t have the patience, or time, to sit through a three-minute video just to understand a product's features. 

Solution: Interactive Videos

Most brands haven’t thought beyond basic product videos. But Interactive videos allow users to easily explore the product features they care most about, enhancing understanding and creating a smoother shopping experience. 

At Eko, our interactive videos allow for a deeper exploration of the product's key features at the customer’s own pace—keeping them engaged without requiring a significant time commitment. We’ve seen bounce rates 34% lower for product pages that use our interactive videos.

Challenge: Technical Complexities

Video integration on a webpage isn’t as straightforward as it might seem. Bandwidth issues, video formatting, and ensuring seamless video play across different devices and platforms — all can be technically challenging. Brands may not have in-house expertise, or the right tech stack.

Solution: Simplified Technical Integration

Advancements in web technology have made video integration much simpler than it was before. Different hosting platforms and plugins are available that ensure seamless video play.

At Eko, we provide integration solutions for your ecommerce store to embed the video experience in a seamless and effective way.

Challenge: Performance and Loading Speed

Videos can enhance your site, but if not properly integrated, they might slow down load times and even affect your SEO ranking. Considering that 64% of consumers are unwilling to wait more than five seconds for a video to load while shopping online, brands often opt for photos instead.

Solution: Improved Performance Technologies

Thanks to technology advancements, video can be integrated into your PDP in ways that eliminate any concerns about loading speeds. Plus, the benefits of increased engagement and conversions overwhelmingly outweigh potential performance hitches. 

At Eko, our tried & tested adaptive video technology minimizes loading and buffering times, and even provides a non-video version for users on slow or unstable internet.

Challenge: Lack of Tracking Metrics

Unlike standard image galleries where you can track clicks, videos make it harder to track engagement and effectiveness.

Solution: Advanced Analytics Tools

With sophisticated analytics tools, tracking user engagement and ROI of videos is no longer an issue. 

At Eko, we offer robust analytics solutions that show not only the impact of the video on conversion, but how engagement with specific parts of the video lead to purchase—which is particularly useful with our interactive product videos. Plus, you can use these insights to optimize your entire funnel.

Challenge: Time Constraints

Creating a highly engaging and informative product video takes time. From planning to production, and integration on a webpage, it can be a time-consuming process. Ecommerce brands often need to move quickly to add new products or update existing ones, so investing time in creating videos is a significant constraint.

Solution: Efficient Production

Using tools that offer pre-set templates or animations can significantly cut down video production time. And the benefits videos offer, from increased time on page to higher conversion rates, justify the time investment.

At Eko, we streamline production by automating repetitive tasks and simplifying manual production processes to save you time and resources.

Challenge: Higher Production Costs

Video production is generally more expensive than taking photos since it requires scripting, shooting, and editing. This can be a major hurdle for smaller businesses with limited budgets. 

Solution: Cost-Effective Production

Today, creating compelling videos doesn't require hefty budgets. There are affordable and easy-to-use tools available that allow even novice users to create professional-looking videos.

At Eko, we shoot products in our robotic studio, where we provide a holistic, cost-effective solution to filming your product and showcasing its features.

The benefits of incorporating video are substantial

Enhanced Understanding and Engagement

Videos provide a richer, more detailed view of products, showcasing functionality and real-world applications, which images and text alone can’t convey. And our Interactive product videos can bring the offering to life, creating a holistic understanding that images or text can't deliver. In fact, we’ve seen cart abandonment rates decrease by 2%.

Increased Customer Confidence and Reduced Returns

Videos offer a more comprehensive look at a product. Interactive product videos that show the item in action, and give consumers a hands-on way to explore details and features, increases trust and reduces the likelihood of returns.

Higher Conversion Rates

Product listings with videos have shown to increase dwell time on pages and significantly boost conversion rates by 35%.

Optimized for Mobile Shopping

As mobile shopping continues to grow, videos provide a clear advantage by conveying detailed information more efficiently on smaller screens.

Final Thoughts

While brands may be hesitant to integrate video due to various challenges, the rewards far outweigh the risks. By leveraging modern tools and strategies, brands can transform their product pages with videos that captivate, inform, and drive substantial business growth. In eCommerce, a well-crafted product video can be the key to convincing customers and increasing sales.