Are Smart TV platforms the next big thing in retail?

“By 2018 there will be around 500 smart connected devices in the home via Internet of Things. Therefore, enterprises who are still in a dilemma, now it becomes essential for them to embrace these two concepts in their customer engagement strategies”.–Gartner

Technology is making our life easy. We are now either a command or a click away to shop almost anything. Remember Amazon dash wand — it’s as easy as “Say it, Scan it and Ask Alexa” and you are sorted.

“Smart home will be an area of dramatic evolution over the next decade and will offer many innovative digital business opportunities to those organizations who can adapt their products and services to exploit it” — Gartner

Are Smart TV platforms the next best thing in retail?

In this article I will be focusing on “Smart TV” platform and how is it going to completely change the way the customers shop.

Retailers are starting to focus on the potential of smart TVs for offering on-screen, real-time commercial purchasing.

Television has come a long way; we are now seeing sleek, flat screen design and smart, connected capabilities. The evolution of connected television has come with an equal progression in TV-prompted purchasing: the ability to make a purchase in real time once an advertisement airs.

Do you believe that there are already applications available on this platform?

Connekt ShopTV app lets viewers buy goods from the commercials they’re watching with just a few clicks of a remote — explains Connekt CEO Mike Fitzsimmons.

“The motivation to launch ShopTV was this fundamental belief that, as smart televisions gets connected to the internet, the opportunity for commerce to take place on those televisions is real,” Fitzsimmons said. “We’re trying to form a bridge between internet-connected televisions and retailers and brands who want to sell to the end consumer, and then to make it easy for end consumers to actually purchase from that experience.”

As TVs and consumer shopping preferences evolve, the retail industry needs to step up and adapt to the shifts, if not, be ready to stay behind in the game.

This is probably another channel to make it easy for the buyers — Shop on TV platform enables consumers to buy the products they see displayed on their TV screens from those same screens, in the moment, without having to reach for another device like a phone or tablet.

With these kind of apps, when a commercial appears on a smart TV that picks viewer’s interest, he or she can use a remote to click the advertisement and buy the product being pitched, or browse similar items from the same brand. These apps can also further display curated deals, as well as ongoing offers from the brand. And, if the consumer really digs the system, they can also opt for personalized offers and deals.

There is more; these apps can also enable the purchase of products shown on a TV show. For example, a user could buy a hockey jersey emblazoned with the logo of the team playing on the screen in front of them. Possibilities of this platform are unlimited.

Retail industry believes it is all but inevitable that consumers will adopt TV-powered purchasing habits as improved television technology percolates the market, just like how consumers became accustomed to mobile purchasing when mobile was the evolving.

“It’s a novel concept we’ve talked about for a long time,” some experts said. “Consumers haven’t been exposed to a really easy, efficient way by which they can transact from that big piece of glass in their living room.”

Statistics and Strategy –

It is believed that an average individual watches TV for 5 hours or longer a day. There is a strong indication that advertisers could benefit big from maximizing their experiences with those viewers by making it easier for consumers to buy products the moment they decide they want them.

The Survival and way forward –

These apps needs to raise their profile and gain trust among consumers, which is the only way for survival. It is believed that “if we get the experience right and make it as easy as possible, there’s a transformative experience here.”

However, — at this point, it’s anyone’s guess.

This platform should also be married with other platforms like -

• Digital media players and micro-consoles to reach larger audience instead of a standalone application. Like — Google Chromecast, Apple TV, Amazon fire stick and so on
• Integration with Smart Speaker is an another way — Imagine the ability to order a product from the commercial that is currently running on TV with a command — “Alexa, order the Manchester jersey from the current commercial”. I know this is a long shot, but the possibilities are endless looking at the pace at which the technology is growing.
• Make the purchasing process as smooth as possible — Amazon Pay, PayPal or credit cards that can be stored within their ShopTV account

So, will smart TVs become the new home for shopping?

Source — bunch of tech sites and blogs!