Fresh Market Talks Launching a Live Shoppable Video RMN
- Specialty food retailer The Fresh Market is expanding its partnership with video commerce platform Firework to launch a shoppable video-live commerce (SVLC) retail media network.
- The initiative will be a first-of-its-kind, video-driven RMN experience, according to the retailer, giving brands the opportunity to run video ads across the retailer's ongoing livestream series, which includes holiday meal prep tutorials and chef-developed recipes.
- The move comes as Instagram ends its live shopping function that allows creators to directly tag products and promote links in their live broadcasts.
The Fresh Market first tapped Firework to further its "digital transformation" initiative in late 2021, with the goal of extending its reach to next-generation consumers. Realizing its e-commerce business was flattening out, the retailer at the time was looking for ways to appeal to online customers, which Fresh Market found differed from its typical female, affluent, 50 years or older shopper base. These e-commerce shoppers tended to be younger, male and female, less brand loyal and more focused on social media platforms and influencers than consuming TV or reading emails, Kevin Miller, Fresh Market's chief marketing officer, told the Path to Purchase Institute in a recent interview.
Focused on increasing its reach, relevance and revenue, the retailer tapped Firework to create short-form, shoppable videos. The partnership proved successful, according to Miller, with the combined viewership of the first four Firework-powered livestreams exceeding 2 million views and conversion rates of the special occasion meals highlighted in the shoppable videos more than 300% greater than the retailer's traditional digital advertising results. In 2022, 600 shoppable videos were created and have garnered a total watch time of 744 days.
"Shopping in America is done primarily by customers that visit the advertiser's or company's website — not their social media [channels]," said Miller, noting the best place to reach shoppers is when they are in shopping mode on a retailer website. "We're reaching our customers in the old axiom of right place, right time and right message but, importantly, in the right way."
Shoppable videos are still found on the retailer's home page, but now a shopper is greeted with the shoppable video-live commerce solution that lets shoppers interact and chat on the left side of the video and browse the items spotlighted within the video on the right. Sharing a case study, Miller said the retailer spotlighted Passion Roses in a livestream, shoppable video (see screenshot above) to tie in to Valentine's Day. The livestream amassed 900,000 views and resulted in Passion Roses' flowers selling out in stores and a retailer record of the most flowers sold for the holiday.
"It's not like selling an orange in a regular 30-second ad," Miller said. "It's like selling an orange on steroids because that orange is wrapped in an environment that is so engaging and immersive and attractive to our customers that they just want that orange."
Watch the full interview with Miller below.