Web Stores Add Virtual Product Tours

• Posted: Tuesday, May 06, 2008
• |
• Author: pradhana
• |
• Filed under: Online Services

By Rick Martin, CEO of SellPoint

SellPoint creates "Active Product Tours": flash video and in-depth product descriptions which may be used on different retail e-commerce Web sites. The tours are syndicated to sites like Amazon.com, Circuit City and Staples.

eMarketer spoke with SellPoint CEO Rick Martin about how online shoppers gather product information and how product presentation is handled online.

eMarketer: When one thinks of virtual product tours these days, Second Life comes to mind. Is this that?

Rick Martin: No. Our product tours are found on the product pages of popular online retail sites. For consumers who choose to view them, they are a way of learning more about products they are considering. We're trying to replicate the in-store experience.

Product manufacturers provide all the collateral and signoff on the tour, so they control the information provided to online shoppers. Typically this includes flash video or other rich media, as well as printable material such as user guides and other product information.

The information is also updated three times a day, so if a product wins an award, or product information changes, the tour can incorporate the new material. The tour itself is opt-in; consumers launch it by pressing a "Take a Product Tour" button on the product page.

Read more - eMarketer

• Permalink
• RSS 2.0
• 
• 
• 
• 
•