HERO hopes to make online shopping feel more like IRL

Even before the pandemic, consumers were shifting their shopping habits from brick and mortar stores to online. However, at least one aspect of real-life shopping is making a comeback of sorts. HERO, the No. 1 virtual shopping platform, recently introduced Stories. The new option allows retailers to create and publish highly authentic videos, giving online shoppers a more engaging experience.

Already being used by Ted Baker, Faherty, and others, Stories makes it possible to create shoppable, short-form one-to-many videos that bring products to life, which are then easily shareable in online stories. But, as HERO explains, with Stories, stores are the new studios, and store associates are the new creators.

According to Adam Levene, Founder of HERO, "For too long, eCommerce has been purely transactional. With Stories, retail brands can now easily create the kind of real, authentic, and short form video content today's shoppers are craving."

Source: HERO

The Stories tool has largely been created with Gen-Z and Millenials in mind, two groups critical in shaping the future of commerce. In a recent survey of 1,500 U.S. consumers, HERO found shoppers miss seeing products in real life even though they prefer shopping online. However, static product images and boring text descriptions are no longer cutting it online.

With Stories, a compromise of sorts has been created. Thanks to the new tool, the online shopping experience can now feature short, relevant videos that store associates and product experts can place easily online.

As Chris Cairns, Concept & Development retail manager, noted, "Making it possible for shoppers to click through to products and shop the story encourages our experts to get on there and get talking about our products."

How it works

To get started with HERO's new tool, store stakeholders' shoot Stories using the Hero app. They then tag the video with the relevant SKUs, then share their creations for review. Once the videos get approved by the retailer, they contextually appear on the product page. Office teams can easily track sales, engagement, and the overall impact of each video.

For more information about Stories, visit the official HERO site.