Down to Shop bets on custom video to sell products (by Lisa Rowan, sourced from Retail Dive)
Down to Shop, an iOS app that uses video to sell products, launched Monday. "The goal is for viewers to have fun, laugh and also be so entertained that they make a purchase," a company release emailed to Retail Dive explained.
The app presents one episode per day, and each episode promotes a featured product. Viewers can purchase products directly through the app. Each month is a new "season," which consists of five shows with four episodes each.
Users are encouraged to play games related to Down to Shop content, and otherwise engage with the app, to earn app-specific currency called "Clout" that can be used to shop in the app.
Down to Shop further blurs the lines between social media, shopping and entertainment. But will it translate to sales? The app, founded by Cyrus Summerlin and Max Hellerstein, boasts a cast of Upright Citizens Brigade sketch comedy alumni to create its custom content for brands, using "character-driven shows," according to the release.
A far cry from the curated images of many social media advertising campaigns, Down to Shop embraces absurdity to try and engage customers with bright colors, bold hosts and cheeky scripts. Users swipe to watch the next character-driven video and can press a button during the video to purchase. Shopify integration allows brands to share their online stores via the app, according to the company. Featured brands have included the Pretty Litter cat litter subscription, Sustain Condoms and FinalStraw.
Alongside the brand’s in-app currency, called Clout, Down to Shop accepts Apple Pay and credit cards. The company started testing the app with 5,000 users in March, and found that users watched for an average of 20 minutes at a time; 25% of users have purchased something from the app, a representative told Retail Dive by email.
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