The 'Add to Cart' button will come to TV remotes. Many have tried. All have failed. Why now?

摘要

The popularity of home shopping channels hasrnshown that consumers will shop through television,rnespecially if the items are easy to purchase. What ifrnconsumers could, while watching a program, buy thatrnstylish black handbag like the one sported by their favoriternTV character simply by pressing or saying “add to cart” onrna remote? This service has been predicted for years, datingrnback to the 1980s. At various points, it’s been calledrnEnhanced TV, T-Commerce, or Shopification. But all thesernpast attempts at unifying shopping and television havernfailed due to the difficulty in marking-up content by hand,rnscene-by-scene and frame-by-frame.rnMassive advancements in computer vision technology,rntogether with the shift to over-the-top (OTT) television, havernfinally made this future possible. And not just for only onernor two pilot episodes, but for all streamed content. Today’srncomputer vision algorithms and modern IP platforms canrnidentify shopping items in content automatically and tagrnhuge libraries in minutes. OTT plus computer vision canrnoffer service providers an entirely new way to monetizerncontent - even back-catalog content. This “contextualrncommerce” combines high purchase intent andrnpersonalization in a simple, friction-free transactionrnenvironment. By linking these context-aware shoppingrnopportunities to well-established e-commerce platforms,rnOTTs can generate new revenue by directly facilitating thernpurchase of that stylish black handbag.rnIn this discussion, we will outline the applications ofrncomputer vision in the space and walk through the keyrnchallenges and solutions to integrating therntechnology. Readers will leave with a simple five-steprnchecklist for evaluating and integrating this technology.