Roku Brings Checkout to Streaming
TV streaming platform Roku is partnering with Shopify to provide viewers with the ability to purchase products from Shopify merchants directly from their TV through Roku Action Ads.
Upon seeing an ad for a Shopify merchant, viewers can press “OK” on their Roku remote to learn more about the product and purchase it directly from their TV. They will be able to check out with the streaming service’s payments platform, Roku Pay, and return to their streaming experience once the purchase is complete. Purchasers will then receive email confirmation of their order directly from the merchant.
Roku Action Ads are any advertisements on Roku streaming devices that provide a down funnel action, such as sending users a text, scanning a QR code or making a purchase. According to a Roku media release, Shopify’s commerce integration with Action Ads is the e-commerce company’s first for independent Shopify merchants on TV streaming, creating a new advertising channel for them to explore.
Men’s apparel brand True Classic, the game-based connected rower Ergatta and Unilever’s wellness brand Olly have signed on as initial partners.
“Offering a great purchase experience for customers and having sound channel measurement are critical to True Classic's success,” Paige Becker, vice president of growth at True Classic, said in the release. “Roku Action Ads address both these needs, providing a frictionless path to purchase for customers while allowing us to measure the impact of this strategy with the end-to-end Shopify integration. Merging performance-based tactics with the scale of TV is a win-win, and we are excited to explore Roku’s innovation.”
“Roku democratizes access to TV advertising, and now we’re collapsing the funnel for Shopify’s merchants,” Peter Hamilton, senior director of ad innovation at Roku, said in the release. “This is a great example of Roku’s unique platform position to make advertisers unmissable across the streamer’s journey, from power on to purchase complete.”
This collaboration shortens the advertising funnel from brand awareness to purchase on consumers' TVs. Roku says providing Shopify advertisers with more customer data and insights into purchasing trends as well as point-of-sale access to Roku’s audience marks a “major milestone” for the partners’ ongoing commerce partnership.
“Shopify is on a mission to make commerce better for everyone, and by partnering with Roku to make Shopify Checkout available through new channels, we are making it easier for more brands to drive deeper engagement with shoppers and reach new audiences,” Mani Fazeli, director of product, checkout at Shopify, added.