Stockholm, December 4, 2024—Researchers Karina T Liljedal and Hanna Berg from the Stockholm School of Economics, in collaboration with the Swedish Retail and Wholesale Council and Bambuser, have released a report examining the evolving landscape of digital customer interactions in physical stores.

The research highlights (full report in Swedish) the growing relevance of video commerce and the role of live shopping in fostering deeper customer engagement, authentic interactions, and influencing purchasing decisions. The project has shown overall positive effects when retail companies implement and offer different types of video-based service encounters. As a result, video commerce emerges as a cost-effective strategy to boost customer satisfaction, deepen engagement, and drive sales growth.

In an experiment involving the impact of recorded video content on e-commerce, Product display pages (PDPs) with and without video content, the results were clear: consumers were willing to pay significantly more (increasing 60,91%) for a product when a video was included on the product page. Research highlights that recorded video content not only enriches online product information but also enhances the overall shopping experience, creating a more engaging and consumer-friendly environment.

The research also delves into digital clienteling, where personalized video customer meetings enhance the customer experience. Key insights include: purchase intent, brand perception, product quality perception and the willingness to pay. While the length of video calls did not directly increase the likelihood of a purchase, they did boost the value of purchases made. Approximately 15% of video customer meetings led to a purchase during the call, underscoring the potential of personalized video engagement.

“Our research indicates that video really makes a difference in both digital service encounters and in e-commerce in general. We were surprised by how consistently consumers were willing to spend more for products bought using video, spanning one-to-one and video enhanced e-commerce” said Karin T Liljedal, Stockholm School of Economics.

“The findings highlight the transformative impact of video commerce in fostering deeper customer connections and enhancing engagement. We are excited to see such compelling evidence of its benefits, which perfectly align with our vision for the future of digital commerce” said Maryam Ghahremani, CEO of Bambuser.

The research team conducted a series of studies, including a literature review, five experiments, three analyses of store data and live shopping broadcasts, seven focus groups with a sample of American and British consumers, and an interview study. They also collaborated with doctoral researcher Ksenia Mischa Rundin, who specializes in live shopping.

This collaborative report reveals that digital touchpoints—particularly video-based interactions—are not just a temporary trend but are becoming integral to the shopping experience, both online and in physical stores. Live shopping, digital clienteling, and video-enhanced product displays offer retailers new ways to build stronger customer relationships and drive increased engagement and sales.