Roku expands shoppable advertising with Shopify partnership

The news: Roku viewers will soon be able to purchase products from Shopify merchants via shoppable CTV ads thanks to an expanded partnership between the two companies.

• Viewers can press “OK” on their remotes to access product information and make a purchase without leaving the platform, and resume streaming once the transaction is complete.
• Apparel brand True Classic, connected fitness company Ergatta, and wellness brand Olly are the first Shopify merchants to sign on.

The opportunity: The partnership gives Shopify merchants a new advertising channel, as well as an opportunity to reduce the time between discovery and purchase with a frictionless checkout experience.

• Nearly six in 10 (57% of) Roku viewers have paused an ad to shop a product online, per Roku’s internal data.
• Other retailers are already seeing success with Roku’s shoppable ads: Walmart said clickthrough rates for campaigns using the ad format were at least three times higher than for average video campaigns run through its DSP.

The big picture: Shoppable ads are an effective tool for marketers looking to speed up the path to purchase, while the ability to check out without leaving the platform makes it easier for brands to capitalize on impulse buys.

• Thirty-nine percent of US adults who have viewed shoppable ads have engaged with them; of that group, 70% have made a purchase, per a study by Aluma.
• And interest is growing: Purchase intent for NBCUniversal’s shoppable TV integrations increased by 168% between 2019 and 2022, per data shared with Retail Touchpoints.