In a first-of-its-kind partnership, Roku, one of the leading TV streaming platforms in the United States, Canada, and Mexico, has announced a collaboration with Shopify. The partnership would allow viewers to directly purchase Shopify merchants’ products from their TV. This will be made possible via Roku Action Ads.
On seeing a Shopify merchant’s advertisement, viewers can know more about the product by simply pressing OK. They can follow the process to buy it directly from their television. Roku Pay will allow them to check out. It is Roku’s own payments platform. After completing the purchase, viewers can return and enjoy their streaming experience. After the transaction is done, the buyer will get an email confirmation from the merchant.
Roku democratizes access to TV advertising, and now, we’re collapsing the funnel for Shopify’s merchants. 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.
Peter Hamilton, Senior Director, Ad Innovation, Roku
About Roku Action Ads
This integration with Roku Action Ads will allow viewers to enjoy a seamless checkout experience for advertisements being streamed on the platform. So what are Roku Action Ads? Basically, they are any advertisements on Roku streaming devices that enable down-funnel action, like scanning a QR code, sending text to users or purchasing.
It is the first commerce integration for Shopify’s independent merchants on TV streaming. This will help Shopify merchants explore a new channel for advertising. Wellness brand Olly, men’s apparel brand True Classic and the game-based connected rower Ergatta have signed an agreement as initial partners.
Reacting to the partnership, Peter Hamilton, Senior Director of Ad Innovation at Roku said, “Bringing a Shopify purchase experience to television for merchants is an industry first, and innovation opportunities like these are precisely the reason I came to Roku. Roku democratizes access to TV advertising, and now, we’re collapsing the funnel for Shopify’s merchants. 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.”
The Win-win Partnership
Paige Decker, Vice President, Growth at True Classic said, “Offering a great purchase experience for customers and having sound channel measurement are critical to True Classic’s success. 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.”
Saaj Parikh, Director of Marketing, Ergatta added, “Our commerce efforts are all about meeting our target consumers where they are, and providing a seamless path to purchase. Integrating the Shopify shopping experience on the Roku platform is a no-brainer for us. We’re thrilled to start experimenting with Roku Action Ads and tap into the scale of Roku.”
This unique experience shortens the advertising funnel from brand awareness to purchase on the largest screen in the home. Shopify advertisers receive more customer data and insight into purchasing trends, plus point-of-sale access to Roku’s audience, marking a major milestone for Roku’s ongoing commerce partnership with Shopify. Now, viewers can purchase directly from the screen.
Making Commerce Better For Everyone
“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,” said Mani Fazeli, Director of Product, Checkout at Shopify.
Roku shares increased over 11 percent on Tuesday after the streaming platform announced its partnership with Shopify. Its stock soared by 11.1 percent by the end of Tuesday and an extra 1.6% percent of US$76.65 in pre-market trading on Wednesday. This year, Roku shares have risen by 67 percent. Meanwhile, Shopify shares increased 2 percent and are 78 percent higher year-to-date.
About Roku
Roku, an American company, was established in October 2002. It was founded by ReplayTV founder Anthony Wood as a limited liability company (LLC). Based in San Jose, California, the company manufactures and sells audio equipment and digital media players for video streaming. It also operates a video-on-demand service supported by ads. It also licenses its software and hardware to other companies. Roku means “six” in Japanese. For the unversed, Roku is the sixth company established by Wood, hence, the name.
Shopify Checkout
Shopify checkout is used by merchants to accept orders and payments for their e-commerce stores. Customers use Shopify checkout to enter their payment details and shipping information and payment details. They can also review the merchant’s store policies from the checkout. Shopify checkout pages and settings are customisable. Merchants can even decide how they want to collect the email addresses of customers for marketing.
Also Read: 4 Advantages Of Shopify Checkout
Shopify has been working on its checkout for around two decades. In research quoted by Shopify, Shop Pay increased conversion by up to 50 percent as compared to guest checkout. Shop Pay outperformed other accelerated checkout by approximately 10 percent said the research. Even the presence of Shop Pay is enough to lift the lower funnel conversion by five percent, said the study. The massive identity network of Shopify, unmatched scale, consumer trust and velocity of innovation are the four primary benefits of Shopify Checkout.
Shopify’s Intent
Shopify focuses on its massive identity network as it is the future of commerce. Lately, brands are realising the importance of conversion benefits and hence, they are working to remove checkout friction. Minimising multiple steps during the checkout process increases the conversion rate. Shop Pay is better than any other wallet as it offers one-click checkout. Shopify claims that “over 100 million high-intent, high-value buyers are pre-opted” with Shop Pay.
When a potential customer with an account on Shop Pay visits a website, Shopify identifies them with a single click. It even has the power to identify the majority of customers if they have recently used Shop Pay and that too without any kind of user action. This helps Shop Pay to initiate smooth one-click checkout by pre-filling customer details. Hence faster checkout than a guest checkout.
Travis Hess, EVP of DTC at The Stable, Part of Accenture Song said, “Brands that provide personalized experiences to their customers, including a supporting checkout they know and trust, are able to remove some of the friction within the buying journey to ensure higher conversion. Shop Pay is an ideal solution for these retailers and a proven way to increase conversion.”
