Farfetch has launched a music video version of “The Nutcracker” that is fully shoppable and features the luxury e-commerce company’s seasonal looks.
The video—which was choreographed by Dana Foglia, who was also behind Beyoncé’s “Formation” video—opens with music from the classic ballet and then breaks it down into a remixed version that’s accompanied by a full dance ensemble. Before watching, viewers are notified that everything in the video is clickable and are asked to click items of interest to bookmark. The items are then banked in a bubble in the bottom right corner, where users can explore the garments in more detail and also purchase them, if they so choose.
Farfetch has demonstrated that it’s not shy when it comes to digital partnerships. Earlier this year, it teamed up with Apple Music to share playlists used during photoshoots, and it was the first brand to stream the songs on its own iOs and tablet app, in addition to its website. Such collaborations “not only create a way to further engage with consumers, but they also increase brand awareness in a global capacity,” Farfetch CMO Stephanie Horton said in July.
The video campaign uses Cinematique technology to enable the video’s “touchable” capability. Other brands like Rebecca Minkoff and John Varvatos have also used the platform in recent months to create shoppable videos of their own. Though Cinematique boasts being “the world’s first touchable video platform,” it has inspired other up-and-coming platforms like Smartzer, which has worked on campaigns with Puma, Barbour and Marks & Spencer. Facebook has also dabbled in the shoppable video realm—it tested promotional ads this summer with links to products users can purchase.
“This type of shoppable video had solved things that had annoyed me in the space—it ties to e-commerce without interrupting,” Nate Poeschl, director of digital marketing at John Varvatos, told Glossy in February. “Anytime you can make the commerce connection, that’s huge.”
The menu screens for the shoppable component of the Farfetch holiday video.
However, actually getting consumers to use functions like buy buttons and shoppable videos has been challenging, and their efficacy remains to be seen. Though the click-to-buy option is designed to help consumers seamlessly make purchases, there is no conclusive data that shoppers are actually leveraging videos to help them shop. For example, Cinematique has an average 13 percent click-through rate across its entire platform, according to Kyle Heller, the company’s co-founder and chief strategy officer. However, the rate varies greatly among its videos. For example, a recent publisher-made video reached 60 percent click-through.
Jason Goldberg, the svp of content and commerce at Razorfish, said he anticipates that Farfetch will struggle to make its shoppable video successful. He said this is large part due to the fact that the site already has a captive audience that visits with a specific product in mind.
“Part of the problem is that video tends to be a linear, passive activity, while shopping is much more interactive,” Goldberg said. “Consumers aren’t currently visiting their site because they expect to watch videos—they’re coming to the site looking for the products Farfetch is known for.”
He added: “If a shopper lands on the site with a specific product or even type of garment in mind, it’s far easier and faster to find that product via the site’s navigation or search engine than it is to watch a set of videos.”
