Marketing in any industry is all about building awareness and understanding of a product or service. Creating awareness of a product’s full value can be especially challenging for ecommerce brands, as customers can’t physically interact with the item. These brands must use creative marketing techniques and outlets to impress consumers with the benefits of their product.
Video is becoming increasingly popular among ecommerce businesses.
Through an engaging explainer video, for example, brands can demonstrate more clearly the features and value their products provide in a small amount of time. From live demonstrations to quirky, animated explainers, we’ve collected and analysed 18 of the best ecommerce product videos.
Focus on the difference
Explainer videos are the perfect tool for showing a product’s best features. Yet more important than showing what a product or service does is demonstrating the item’s benefit for potential customers. Focusing on the difference the product can make in their life or business can be the key to a successful ecommerce video.
1. Shopify
The explainer video for Shopify spends very little time talking about what Shopify does or demonstrating how it works – but it still makes a persuasive case.
Colourful animations that flow from one scene to the next compare how shopping has worked in the past to the way shopping can work with Shopify. This focus underscores the value of using Shopify to let customers make purchases from anywhere, as the service makes it possible to purchase on social media sites and even from photos.
2. Cadabbra (Furniture Smart)
Much like the Shopify video above, Cadabbra’s animated explainer video puts the emphasis on what the platform does for its users. Specifically, it uses stylised, nearly-monochrome animations to highlight the ways Cadabbra is changing the process of interior design.
The video shows the difference that the platform makes not only for customers but also for retailers, interior designers, and project managers with its immersive marketplace environment.
3. Uber Eats
It probably wasn’t all that long ago that the idea of ordering food online would’ve seemed a little strange. And now it’s second nature.
This snappy and hilarious video from Uber Eats reminds viewers that they can get almost anything from their app – and the app isn’t even featured once!
Here’s another example:
This ‘almost anything’ series is just a little bit wacky and definitely works to keep Uber Eats front-of-mind for viewers.
4. MedMart
MedMart offers a new way for users to find the best local doctors and plan cosmetic procedures. This video does a great job of outlining the issues with the current way of doing things before presenting the MedMart app as the perfect solution.
The 3D animated style not only helps this video stand out from other competitors in this space, it also allows the brand to talk about cosmetic procedures without being specific about any real people’s features or looks.
Keep it simple and brief
When the average attention span is just eight seconds, marketers don’t have long to get a point across, let alone be persuasive enough to sell a product. These ecommerce videos save time by focusing in on the most important features right away. The perfect video length varies by brand and product, but between 30 seconds to -2 minutes is generally ideal.
5. Wallprotex
Customised products and customisation services are almost always complex by nature. The Wallprotex video succinctly walks an audience of architects and designers through ordering their custom wall protection products, from the concept stage through prototype to final development.
The unique chalkboard-style animations of the video reflect a blueprint aesthetic and at times even emulate the online interface for designing and ordering products from Wallprotex. Through this video format, a lengthy process is made simple and easy to understand.
6. Airbnb
This 40 second video from Airbnb is a winner for many reasons. First off, that iconic soundtrack. It grabs attention from the first moment and most people will associate The Flintstones with happy memories, which is exactly what Airbnb is trying to sell here – quite cunning!
Speaking of memories, the video shares snapshots of peoples’ vacation at an Airbnb property through Polaroid-style images. This gives the video a unique and memorable style.
7. Amazon
Almost everyone in the world is familiar with Amazon Echo by now, which is probably why this video introducing the 5th Gen model is quick and to the point.
The video does a great job of showing how useful the Echo can be and how seamlessly it can slot into customers’ busy lives.
Amazon also makes the bold choice to end with the price of the product, something that not many ecommerce videos do but something we imagine customers are grateful for.
8. Comr.se
The Comr.se explainer video takes just one minute to clarify the premise of what is rather technical and complicated digital service. Starting with an explanation of the problem – that current ads take customers away from the sites they enjoy – it goes on to explain how the service creates a full shopping experience within platforms like social media.
Animations that continuously transform from one image to another support the narration throughout the video.
9. Norton
At just 29 seconds, Norton’s explainer video is a quick watch, but that doesn’t make it any less effective. Its charmingly colourful character animations are unique for software products as it explains why protecting your digital information is so important.
While emphasising the value of digital “stuff” and potential dangers, it quickly makes a strong case for digital protection.
10. Barkbox
This charming 30 second ad mimics old school telemarketing videos and pairs that with a catchy song that’s bound to get stuck in your head all day.
It’s amazing just how much Barkbox crams into such a short space of time. By the end of the video viewers know exactly what they get in a box, how to order, and how to share their experience. Plus, they even make room for funny jokes and easter eggs!
Let the visuals speak
A great voiceover can be key to a persuasive explainer video. But in some cases, it’s even more effective to let the visual elements speak for themselves. The following ecommerce product videos have little to no spoken text, using other video and audio elements to make the sale.
11. Training Mask
The Training Mask is a fitness tool used by athletes and fitness enthusiasts alike who want to add respiratory conditioning to their training regime.
This voiceover-less video lets the product do all the talking by showing lots of different people using it as part of their exercise routine. These fitness video clips paired with music by The Siege make this explainer video just as motivational as any Rocky training montage.
12. Nike
The video for Nike’s Air Max relies entirely on visual elements to make its point about the lightness and flexibility of the shoes.
With images of the actual Air Max shoes interspersed, the majority of the video uses abstract motion graphics to evoke the airy design and nature movement built into the shoes.
No words are needed to give customers a strong impression of how Nike’s Air Max shoes will feel to wear.
Show some personality
Like any other form of advertising, explainer videos need to make an impression to be successful. The majority of consumers might not be ready to purchase when they see the video – but one that shows the brand’s personality will likely be top of mind when they do make that decision.
13. eBay
eBay shows off bags of personality in this short video!
This energetic ad shows all different kinds of people selling and buying things on eBay. And their happiness is almost infectious.
According to McCann London who created the video, the upbeat vibe of the video is no accident. They said that the visuals paired with the bespoke track composed by David Goo were designed to express the joy of the eBay experience. Well, it definitely shines through!
14. My Cloud
The My Cloud demo video uses fun animations to add interest and personality to what could be a rather mundane subject – digital storage. The storyline follows an animated cyclist and mobile-device user as he collects and shares new images and videos, demonstrating the struggles of organising in the digital age.
From the video-within-a-video of a skateboarding dog to a selfie-obsessed octopus, this explainer never takes itself too seriously. Paired with bright colours, the ongoing animations highlight the many benefits of a central cloud storage solution in a way that is both eye-catching and entertaining.
15. Dollar Shave Club
Another subscription service with an unexpected but regularly needed product, Dollar Shave Club quickly caught attention in the personal care industry. Part of that is due to the unique personality of the brand, which is clearly evident in the video.
The language may be a turn-off for some, but the casual tone and relatability of the introductory video is sure to win over those seeking an alternative to expensive razors.
16. Spotify
Spotify is music — and even its initial explainer video does nothing to take away from that focus. The video uses a simple animation style, a limited colour palette and a very short script to describe the service and its benefits for music enthusiasts.
The animation keeps time with the music, further highlighting the brand’s dedication to audible entertainment.
17. Fabletics
The term “retail therapy” is thrown around a lot when it comes to shopping. And there does seem to be some science behind shopping as a process to increase or restore happiness.
This fun video from Fabletics focuses on how shopping makes people feel by showing a happy customer trying on her leggings and checking herself out in the mirror.
This is purely metaphorical as Fabletics is an online store (although they do now have a handful of locations around the world), but it allows the brand to show that shopping online can give customers the same hit of dopamine as shopping in physical stores.
18. Communyco
With their video, Communyco wanted to say “Hey, we’re different” and what better way to say that than with a completely unique and bespoke animation?
The fun and colourful characters in this video really stand out and help to make this video memorable. Plus, they allow the brand to appeal to lots of different types of people without segregating anyone.
Final thoughts
An explainer video can be a powerful asset for any brand, but especially for ecommerce products that are unique or take a novel approach in their industry. Videos that clearly demonstrate the product’s value, stay as brief as possible, focus on effective visuals and employ an authentic style are most likely to be successful.
If you’re looking to create your own video, head over to our ecommerce video production page for more information.