What Happened
Amazon has been the undisputed leader in ecommerce, but can it conquer TV shopping as well? After quietly rolling out buyable banner ads on the homepage of its Fire TV set-top box in the past few weeks, the Seattle-based company announced on Wednesday its plan to launch a QVC-style home shopping channel exclusively on Fire TV. Expected to roll out sometime next year, the channel will allow viewers to purchase products directly from the screen.
What Brands Need To Do
Amazon enjoys some unique advantages in transforming TV into a direct sales channel, given that it can seamlessly integrate ecommerce functionality into the Fire TV devices by syncing up users’ Amazon accounts and enabling one-click purchases. The new Apple TV, which hits retail this Friday, allows ecommerce brands to reach viewers via dedicated apps. For brands that are currently selling on Amazon, it may be worthwhile to tap into these new TV shopping initiatives to get a better understanding of the emerging shoppable TV experience.
Source: GeekWire