#t-commerce

T-Commerce, New Ways to Sell Thanks to Television

This week I am going to talk about a global trend that is slowly entering our country. We refer to T-commerce, a new online sales model, but do not get confused! It’s not about selling through tablets (M-Commerce) or selling through Twitter (social e-commerce).

“T-commerce refers to the sale through the television, arising a necessary and indestructible alliance between online sales and Smart TV,…

A fourfold increase in Social TV activity in 2012 means brands can no longer ignore the role that the 2nd screen plays in shaping consumer behaviors.  We see four areas where brands can get make tangible steps forwards in this growing industry:

1. Using Big Data to inform real-time communications

Intelligently worded and reactive communication related to TV programs can position a brand as personable and relevant.  Understanding which programs your target audience watches is one thing, understanding which programs they talk about online is another.  To gain this information brands need social data.  Twitter already owns this space; Nielsen have partnered with them to provide an industry standard metric to measure penetration of a TV program; NBC and ESPN have previously partnered with them on live sporting events.  The big publishers are waking up to the opportunity that Twitter’s data provides, and it’s time that brands begin leveraging this as well.

2. Multiplatform advertising

This data can also lead to great execution of 2nd screen campaigns.  Social TV data will allow brands to contextually market through multiple platforms.  Once a brand understands which programs are talked about most within their target audience, they can not only target the commercial breaks on TV, but also on any mobile friendly platform – and social is key for engagement.  Dell has already experimented in this space, and saw a 68% dwell time on their mobile site as a result of synched, multiplatform advertising.  

3. T-Commerce

While brand positioning and dwell time are key steps for brands to being understanding the social TV space, ultimately driving ROI should be a goal.  Both the previous points can lead to social ROI, but there are bigger opportunities with bespoke Social TV campaigns.  Amex has partnered with NBC Universal to use Zeebox, the social TV app, to direct users to where they can purchase show-related items.   Here in particular there is huge opportunity for innovation, and brands should get in early.

4. Interactive TV

From simple ‘check-in’ apps such as Get Glue, to branded channels, to the latest social TV’s announced at CES 2013, we see the Connected TV trend taking shape.  A concern for this particular area depends on whether consumers are prepared to ‘lean forwards’ and actively engage with a traditionally passive activity.  A few players are banking on it; YouTube for example is making strides in its big screen strategy.   Updates to its ‘Leanback’ product and synching between Android devices and TV sets ultimately hint towards an attempt at DVR experiences.  Certainly one to watch.

With a Flipboard feel, Monogram aims to aggregate all your favorite luxury daily deals and high end retail ecommerce shops into one seamless tablet experience. And the little startup just landed a little more funding to help them do so. 

As TechCrunch perfectly puts it, the "beautiful app that feels like you’re shopping from a traditional catalog. The only difference, of course, is that all items are immediately purchasable. The Monogram app includes apparel and accessories from stores such as Neiman Marcus, Saks Fifth Avenue, Bloomingdales, Bergdorf Goodman, Nordstrom, Shopbop, Gilt, MyHabit, and Reebok, among others."

Today’s customers are empowered by technology and they can practically go anywhere to find what they want. As connectivity and Internet speeds increase across the globe, there emerge huge opportunities for merchants of all sizes to do business over the web.

The rapid development of mobile technologies has enriched the notion of e-commerce and expanded the ‘place’ of purchase and revenue streams for merchants. Consumers can now shop and pay not only in a shop, but also at home, work, on the bus, and on the hoof. The smartphone and m-commerce have in that manner blurred the limits between the on- and offline worlds.

Time has become an extremely valuable commodity, and to a considerable degree defines the choice of products, services and retailers. Convenience is another significant factor for consumers. Experts say that TV commerce (or t-commerce) is an area for the new smarter shopping and a path for merchants to engage with consumers in new ways.

Connected TVs or smart TVs, which have functions such as connection to the Internet and streaming, are becoming standard among TV brands. According to some industry sources, the penetration rate of connected TVs was 20% in 2010, and will increase up to 50% in 2013. In addition to that, such platforms as Google TV, Apple TV, and Roku for viewing video on demand (VOD) are getting increasingly popular. Television is therefore entering an entirely new era, bringing more opportunities for advertising, marketing, revenue generation, and viewer participation. What are the key features of t-commerce?

Making purchases. T-commerce solutions allow TV-viewers to respond directly to offers delivered on the screens of their TVs, and instantly purchase products by using their existing remote controls and set-top boxes.

Request for information. T-commerce apps enable TV viewers to request more information on products, services or events directly from the content they are watching on the television with a few simple clicks on the remote control.

Voting and polling. T-commerce solutions provide additional opportunities for the viewer to interact with programs, advertisers, and networks. Thus, viewers can vote on their favorite shows, programs, news reports, game shows, sporting events, etc.

The immediate response. The instant feedback from the viewer means immediate response for the merchant. Businesses gain thereby valuable customer data for further research and targeted marketing.

The paradigm of t-commerce has the potential to change TV sets into a powerful business tool enabling merchants to conduct business over television. T-commerce makes it possible to reach new and existing customers through increasingly popular Internet-connected TVs and set-top boxes. The entire shopping can be performed with nothing more than a series of clicks on the remote control. Consumers usually respond very positively to businesses that take the time to understand their needs and offer excellent customer service.

Industries and Technology Areas:

Industries: television, smart TV, Google TV, Apple TV, e-commerce, m-commerce, t-commerce, online shopping, software development, mobile application development

Technology Areas: television, e-commerce, m-commerce, t-commerce, online shopping, software development, mobile application development, Google TV, Apple TV, smart TV

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It’s been a good great week for media and advertising junkies.  A flurry of recent reports, studies, and industry ponderings shed more light on consumer engagement with advertising across all four screens.  I’m going to try to sum some of these finding up as they relate to my favorite screen: TV.  Specifically I make the case that today’s market is primed for an explosion of a new wave of commerce that’s not just m-commerce or t-commerce, but a combination of the two.  There’s never been such positive rapid change in consumer engagement behavior around television and advertising in general.  After all digital marketers saw the demise of the click-through rate, the rise of fragmentation, and ultimately a monopolization of consumer time on social media.  Before anyone can blink we’re taking all that and going mobile.  Hello web3.0 or should I just call it MobileWeb.  Through all this change television remains basically unchanged.  For the most part old faithful still runs on a barely measurable, one to many, push content model.  With this week’s series of studies, the advertising industry finally has direction into the future of engaging with audiences, and the answer comes from consumers themselves.

Let’s begin with our good friends at the IAB.  According to a new study by the Interactive Advertising Bureau “nearly half (47%) of tablet owners and a quarter of smartphone users interact with ads on their devices at least once a week.”  What’s better than that you ask?  Another recent study, this time from the Pew Research Center's Internet and American Life Project, finds that half of all cellphone owners use their phones while watching television.  Boom.  While the IAB states tells us that these increases in mobile usage harm traditional media, Pew strikes back finding that “television audiences are primed to participate” using mobile “mission critical” tools.  According to their study, “23% used their phones to text someone who is watching the same show; 22% used the phone to visit a website mentioned on TV (either in the programming or ads); 11% surfed the Web to see what others were saying online about the show -- the same percentage said they posted their own online comments about it -- and 6% said they sometimes used the phone to vote for a reality show contestant.”  Personally I feel that consumers consume more content across all technologies.  They’re adding more screens not replacing them.  Their screen combination may vary depending on time of day, location within the home, and main focus at that time.  Here are three scenarios off the bat:

Sandy is sitting at home on the couch with the TV on.  She’s watching reality TV but not actively engaged in the show (or paying attention to ads) because she busy blogging about why her favorite bachelor just got kicked off.

Mark however is totally engaged with the Dancing With The Stars finale.  He’s so excited that during the show (and during commercials) he’s sharing every ounce of this excitement on Twitter and Facebook with the rest of the audience.

John loves The Walking Dead.  It’s felt like 2 years since last week’s episode and now he’s finally watching zombies in all their glory.  During commercial breaks however he dives into his phone to search for weird zombie stuff online while TV commercials play out.

Here are three very different examples of video consumption across multiple screens with one common denominator: content on the television screen.  The IAB and Pew both point in the same direction, mobile no longer really means “one the go,” and more importantly that mobile users aren't waiting around for traditional TV to catch up with their desire for on-screen interactivity.

Another wrinkle in the television landscape are connected/smart TV’s.  This year, DailyMediaNews reports that “56% of smart TV set owners have accessed some video via a Net connection, according to media research firm Parks Associates. The number is up from 40% two years ago. Overall, Internet-connected video watching on big TV screens is up 30% in the last six months.”  There it is again, our common denominator is still traditional tv… maybe I should have been calling it ‘the big screen’ all along.