How Enterprises and Retailers Use Video for Engagement

Leaning into Video to Fuel Continuity and Consumer Engagement

The pandemic accelerated the digital transformation for many organizations, including enterprises and retailers. Video use continues to evolve and even as shelter-at-home restrictions have lifted, video remains the most effective medium for businesses and brands to connect with stakeholders – whether customers, partners, vendors, or employees.

Whether it's engaging a distributed workforce, boosting employee morale, training new recruits, or driving sales amid brick-and-mortar closures – a video-first strategy is crucial for long-term business growth and survival.

Video has changed the way we work for good

According to the Brightcove Q2 2020 Global Video Index, enterprise video views increased by 93% globally, indicating that the way we engage with video for work has changed for good in light of the pandemic. The Video Index also uncovered an increase of 123% in time watching video created by businesses/enterprises compared to a year ago. In other words, people are engaging with video on a scale never before seen.

Smartphones and computers – two devices that see the most normal business use on a daily basis – were at the heart of business/enterprise video growth in Q2. Smartphone views spiked by 216%, and the amount of time spent watching business/enterprise content on smartphones increased by 465%. While computers held a 60% share of all time watched for Q2, down 20 percentage points from a year ago. Smartphones grabbed a 32% share in Q2, closing the gap with computers.

Both devices are essentially neck-and-neck in terms of viewing share, but smartphones likely will continue to gain – and even pass – computers' share of views. People are developing new working habits and leaning more heavily on smartphones during the workday for access to video content. Businesses should ensure smartphones are at the core of their communications strategy and optimize content for mobile consumption.

Retailers lean on video to stave off bankruptcies and store closures

Against a growing backdrop of retail bankruptcy filings, video has emerged as a key driver in helping retailers connect with customers who are increasingly turning to e-commerce rather than brick-and-mortar stores. Global marketing and retail video views more than doubled in Q2 (114%), showing that video has become the foundation of retailers' engagement and connection to consumers.

Capturing a consumer's attention for 15 or 30 seconds may lead to more sales – or at least increased awareness – but using content to truly engage with a consumer is the future. To do this, marketers and retailers need to start looking at video, and video consumption, the way broadcasters do. This means creating a consistent cadence of product videos to showcase what's new or live streaming the release of a season's newest offerings.

Consumers are open to this as they spent 152% more time watching retail video on smartphone devices and 1060% more time on connected TVs – it's safe to say that consumers are spending more time engaging with brands across all devices than ever before.