Shopify enables streaming TV purchases
A new partnership gives viewers the change to buy products directly from their TVs.
Shopify is partnering with streaming TV platform Roku to let retailers sell products directly through Roku ads. Here's how it works: On seeing an ad for a Shopify retailer, Roku viewers can press “OK” on their Roku remote to learn more about the product and purchase it directly from their TV. They will be able to check out with the Roku Pay proprietary payments platform and return to their streaming experience once they have completed the purchase.
Consumers will receive email confirmation of their order directly from the retailer once the transaction has been processed. Shopify is enabling this direct-to-consumer sales feature via Roku Action Ads, which are advertisements on Roku streaming devices that provide a down funnel action, such as sending users a text, scanning a QR code, or making a purchase.
Integrating Shopify purchases into Action Ads is the first commerce integration for independent Shopify retailers on a TV streaming platform. Men’s apparel brand True Classic and wellness brand Olly have signed on as initial partners.
According to Shopify, its advertisers will receive more customer data and insight into purchasing trends, as well as point-of-sale access to Roku’s audience.
“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.
“Offering a great purchase experience for customers and having sound channel measurement are critical to True Classic's success,” said Paige Decker, VP, growth at True Classic. “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.”
“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,” said Peter Hamilton, senior director of ad innovation at 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.”
Shopify expands customer touchpoints
Shopify has been opening its platform in collaboration with third-party partners. In January 2023, the company launched Commerce Components, a modern, composable stack that lets large enterprise retailers take components of Shopify to integrate with their own systems..
Commerce Components includes tools such as online checkout, as well as flexible APIs to build customer experiences that integrate with a retailer’s existing back office services.
And in August 2022, the Canadian e-commerce company released Shopify Collabs, a new tool designed to let independent content creators and brands connect with its retailers. Shopify Collabs builds on existing integrations with social and entertainment platforms to enable content creators to partner with Shopify-based retailers to build curated shops and share products.