Should you invest in video or not? That’s the question on everyone’s minds.

Imagine, going to Amazon.com to purchase Apple’s Macbook Air. You search for it on the website and a couple of options show up. You’re confused. Which one should you go for? So you open up each of these options and go through their technical details, read reviews, and look at a few pictures.

Still a little confused. This is where video comes into play.

I’d never buy an $800+ device without fully understanding how it works. Since Amazon doesn’t offer product review videos, I’d hop on to YouTube and look for video reviews for the versions I’ve shortlisted. And then, only then, I’d proceed to buy it. And since I’m no longer on Amazon’s website, I’d buy this device from anywhere really.

So, Amazon lost a customer solely because it didn’t fully convince them.

This is just one of the several reasons why it’s critical for eCommerce businesses to incorporate video in their marketing strategy.

We’ve put together a list of stats and numbers to further prove the sheer value of video in the eCommerce world.

eCommerce world - Floundering or Prospering?

So, should you invest more in your digital commerce brand? Is the eCommerce industry still going strong? What do the numbers say?

Let’s find out.

• B2C eCommerce sales worldwide from 2012 to 2018 (in billion U.S. dollars)

• Frost & Sullivan projects that B2B eCommerce will hit $6.7 trillion in sales worldwide by 2020, accounting for 27% of all B2B sales.
   
• Research predicts that online sales will continue to gain market share year over year, growing from just under 13% of retail sales in 2017 to 17% by 2022.

• According to data from Statista, global retail e-commerce sales will hit $4.5 trillion by year 2021. This indicates a 246.15% growth from $1.3 trillion in 2014.

Videos vs All Other Content Types

• A study by Animoto in 2015 revealed that 4x as many consumers would rather watch a video about a product than read about it.
   
• Earlier in 2017 Wyzowl revealed that 79% of consumers would use video to get information about a product than read the text on a page.  That’s 10% increase since last year.
   
• 84% of consumers felt convinced enough to buy a product after watching a brand video about it.
   
• About 12% of visitors will watch a video if it's available on an eCommerce site.
   
• A study by Brightcove in October 2016 revealed that 47% of UK adult video viewers on social media watched brand videos while on social.  43% of them ended up buying products as a result.
   
• According to insights by Google from March 2016, close to 50% of online users look for videos related to a product before they even visit a store to buy it.
   
• According to 2016 survey by Brightcove,
  • 43% of consumers interact with brands on social media via video content.
  • 31% of consumers list video as the most favorite type of branded content on social media.
  • 46% of video viewers admitted they have bought something as a result of watching brand videos on social media.
  • 32% said videos drove them to consider making a purchase.
     
• According to Adwords Holiday Report, one in four shoppers (26%) say online videos are their go-to source for gift ideas, and 32% of shoppers say they plan to use online video more this year for holiday purchases.
   
• 92% of shoppers say visuals are the most influential factor impacting their buying decision. 
   
• According to Invodo, over two-thirds of shoppers who play video on retail sites watch a video to at least 80% completion.
   
• 7 out of 10 millennials are likely to watch a company video when shopping online.
   
• 4 out of 5 shoppers say videos about how a product works are important. 
   
• 96% of consumers find video helpful when making online purchasing decisions. 
   
• According to YouTube’s data, 6 in 10 people who subscribe to YouTube would rather follow advice on what to buy from YouTube video creators than their favorite TV and movie stars.
   
• 44% say they would purchase more products from an eCommerce website that features product videos.
   
• 57% of consumers say that videos make them more confident in products they buy and less likely to return their orders.
   
• 68% of consumers prefer product videos from “people like me”, while 45% prefer product videos by experts.
   
• Mobile video viewers say that they are 1.2 times more likely to think more highly of the companies that feature product videos on their websites.

Can Product Videos Increase Conversion Rates?

Hell, yes.

• In 2016 Animoto study discovered that 76.5% of small business owners and marketers see tangible results from using video in their marketing efforts.
   
• Businesses that use videos see on average 34% higher online conversion rates than those without videos.
   
• According to Aberdeen Group, companies see 49% faster year-on-year revenue growth when they use videos.
   
• Customers who watch product videos while online shopping are 1.9 times more likely to complete their purchases, which translates into conversions.
   
• eCommerce sites featuring product videos report an increase in conversion rates of up to 85%.
   
• Videos on eCommerce sites improve visitor engagement: they increase session duration by up to 340% on average and increase pages visited per session by 127% on average.
   
• Videos contribute to multiple improvements in KPIs: boost in sales (identified by 81% of marketers), increase in traffic (76%), and a decrease in the volume of calls for customer support (53%).
   
• Websites with video see 41% more traffic from search engines. Their visitors also stay on average 81% longer.
   
• Online retailers featuring video on their sites boost customer browsing time by 340%.
   
• eCommerce video increases add-to-cart-conversion by 37%.
   
• According to Buffer, Pages with video content see an increase of 157% in organic traffic from search engines
   
• Research from GoodVidio found that consumers browse almost twice as many pages and stay almost three times longer on ecommerce sites with video ads.
   
• A study by conversion specialists Crazy Egg found that customers who have viewed a video ad of a product can be up to 85% more likely to convert.
   

Don’t Hold Yourself Back

“We live in a world where anyone, from eight-year-olds to eighty-year-olds can make money through their iPhone. The playing field has been leveled, and the only thing that’s holding you back is yourself.”

— Beck Power, co-founder of NomadFly

So print this post, show it to your boss, and start creating videos for your eCommerce brand! At this point, you can’t afford not to.