Could You Create Video Stories On Your Product Category Pages?

We’ve all seen video being incorporated into eCommerce websites a lot more in recent years. A Swipe & Deploy I wrote back in 2023, showcased how Magda Butrym was using autoplaying video on their product detail pages. Compared to static photos or waiting for the user to press play on a video, I found it far more engaging.

However, something I’ve never come across before on an eCommerce product category page, is video in the form of connected story (or interactive PDPs, as Oh Polly call them).

From a web agency standpoint, the developers are the construction team behind websites, but content is usually handled by clients or their creative team. Web agencies tend to provide the square peg for the square hole, so to speak. So coming across this recently, I was impressed with the creativity, and that’s why it has made it into this edition of Swipe And Deploy.

Connected Story?

So the terminology might not be quite right, but in brief, the grid view that is traditional with product category pages, where you see rows of static images, provides videos in selected spaces.

Whoopty doo Basil I hear you cry, but the creative part and what really makes it something worth shouting about, is the fact that what happens in video one, continues to video 2 and to video 3.

Trying to explain it is probably not helping, so here’s a video of the amazing creative Oh Polly collections page.

In the top left video the woman drops some fruit, the second video the fruit rolls into view and is kicked into video 3, where it is picked up. Each video is shot at the same location, with each model wearing a different outfit but to all appear in synchronisation.

It’s simple, but creative genius.

Why Is This Important?

Quite simply, fashion retail is so heavily saturated, that these websites are practically clones of each other. People know what to expect in using them, the products are all very similar, and so is the user experience. So something like this is a way for a brand to stand out from the crowd.

Oh Polly are introducing something memorable and viral that enhances the experience. Barring some development to allow for the video and product ordering, the creative output is mainly in the hands of the content team.

This means that there’s no waiting around for large dev pushes to get new products or promos live. If your content and videos are produced in house, the world is your oyster.

What’s To Swipe & Deploy?

The key takeaway today is simply inspiration. I’ve personally seen these types of connected videos used on B2B meet the team pages, where something is passed between the grid of faces. But this was the first time I’d seen something like this used on an eCommerce product category page.

So the main takeaway is actually a question. Where could connected story videos be used on your website? The meet the team page? Service pages? Product pages? If you’re already utilising video, could any of the videos be connected to create a memorable story?

In the marketing world, the Oh Polly example has become a hot topic and something many people have shared on LinkedIn and other social networks. So whether you’re in it for the sales or in it for exposure, adding some creativity can make your company far more memorable and the website far more engaging.

Let’s face it, Tesco haven’t rolled out a Birthday Cake flavour sandwich to make ‘loafs’ more sales (yes, a great pun indeed). They are relying on people to think ‘this is sharable content’, in the same way people are sharing the Oh Polly ‘interactive product detail page’ (although I’d call it a category page = potato, potahto.)

Here’s the Oh Polly LinkedIn social post:

That’s a wrap for Swipe & Deploy 073 this week. Join me next time where I will share another insight or inspiration piece from around the web. 

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