OTT turns viewers into shoppers: Buy the outfit your favourite actor is wearing in real time
Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. Ever wanted to buy an outfit or accessory the minute you saw it on a streaming show? Such impulse purchases are now possible thanks to Shop the Look, an interactive e-commerce feature that lets you buy those items directly while watching a show. JioHotstar has launched an in-stream feature that allows viewers to explore and purchase what’s called on-screen looks in real time without interrupting playback or leaving the app.
Effectively, those shoppable Reels and product tags on Instagram and YouTube are now making their way to long-form OTT. This may become a new revenue stream that goes beyond traditional advertising, subscriptions and brand integration for OTT platforms, enabling better average revenue per user (ARPU). However, challenges may crop up if such shopping pop-ups disrupt the flow of a show or film, experts said.
“What makes contextual commerce powerful on streaming is not the act of transacting, but the timing," said Bharath Ram, chief product officer at JioHotstar. “Viewers often discover inspiration in fleeting, high-emotion moments as a story unfolds. Shop the Look reflects this shift by reimagining how discovery can happen within premium content in a way that feels natural, immersive, and entirely viewer-led, especially on mobile where attention and action converge." The feature is designed to respond to curiosity in real time, allowing exploration within the flow of content, without pulling audiences away from the narrative, Ram added.
“... content continues to lead, but engagement deepens. It enables brands to be present at moments of genuine relevance, while creators and platforms preserve the integrity of storytelling.
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