The origins of eCommerce date back all the way to 1979, by entrepreneur Michael Aldrich in the United Kingdom. Book Stacks Unlimited, an online bookstore created by Charles M. Stack in 1992, was one of the earliest consumer shopping experiences. Stack’s store began as a dial-up bulletin board three years before Amazon was founded. Flash forward to today, by the end of 2022, global retail eCommerce sales surpassed $5 trillion for the first time, accounting for more than a fifth of overall retail sales. And by 2025, total spending will exceed $7 trillion, despite slowing growth. It has made acquiring and growing markets easier through more efficient and cost-effective distribution channels for products and has radically changed the way people shop today.
As we've already seen, innovations in the eCommerce space have evolved dramatically since it's origins. Social media now plays a big part in how eCommerce shops reach consumers and market products successfully. For example, a survey from 2021 noted that 44% of people used Instagram to shop weekly and 67% of YouTube viewers watch videos for informational product reviews to help with purchasing decisions.
According to a survey by eMarketer, US online shoppers expect to see six product images and three videos on average when buying a particular product. For many, the time and cost of video creation often outweighs the pros, despite the desire for more video content by consumers, and are often a neglected piece of valuable media. In fact, statistics show that product videos have a higher sales rate compared to product images. This is because customers can get a detailed look at the item before purchasing.
If you haven't considered video as part of your online content strategy, now is a great time to start. The emergence of 3D solutions like imagine.io are now presenting the option to cut the costs of videography by 90% and the time it takes to create by over 80%.
Let's explore.