Consumers watching record numbers of video product tours

SAN RAMON, Calif. — SellPoint Inc., provider of on-demand rich media product tours, announced results that broke all previous records for both the number of online shoppers choosing to view its product tours online and the amount of time they spent viewing them during the on-set of this holiday season.

The company reported a 40 percent increase in the number of online shoppers that viewed its Active Product Tours in the first two weeks of December 2008 (compared to the same dates in 2007). For Black Friday 2008 (November 28), there was a 31 percent increase in viewing minutes of the Active Product Tours. And for Cyber Monday 2008 (December 1), there was a 21 percent increase.

SellPoint's Active Product Tours combine dynamic video with a wide array of printable user guides, brochures, and other product information that provide shoppers an engaging and interactive look at the product they are researching. SellPoint provides manufacturers with a direct conduit to deploy enhanced product presentations highlighting their key "why to buy" messages consistently across their online retail points of sale. Additionally, SellPoint's graphical dashboard provides clients with a detailed analysis of shopper behavior that is updated daily, giving clients valuable insight into how consumers interact with their products. SellPoint's extensive network of online retail merchants receives all SellPoint-provided content at no cost.

"Shoppers are being particularly prudent with their spending this holiday season, and that means additional product research is critical to ensure they are buying the right product," said Rick Martin, president and chief executive of SellPoint. "Because shoppers increasingly prefer to do their product research online, video on-demand product tours are the perfect solution to ensure they are making the right purchase for everyone on their list, including themselves."