Examples of the best product videos in e-commerce

Have you ever wondered what makes a perfect product video? 

For starters, sharp visuals and rich product information are a few of the key ingredients. But perhaps most importantly, excellent product videos come with great narratives: the kind that compel consumers to make the journey from watching a video to clicking the add-to-cart button.

We dug into last year’s most watched product videos on the Videoly platform and pinned down what makes or breaks a product video. This list covers a vast sea of products and industries and really highlights the fact that the key ingredients for great product videos remain the same regardless of any other surrounding factors.

So, if you want to learn the elements of a great product video – and watch some real-life examples from e-commerce – keep scrolling. 

The best product videos:

1. Provide rich information
2. Build a captivating soundscape
3. Demo the product
4. Share real-life reviews
5. Offer practical how-to guidance
6. Evoke emotions
7. Are simple and straight-forward
8. Educate the audience
9. Engage the audience

1. Provide rich information of the product

The key to success in most product videos, is to provide rich information – something that is backed up by our data.

Busy shoppers don’t have the time and concentration to read long product descriptions, but when it’s packed into a video format, it’s a different story. This way, customers can get all the information they need to make the purchase decision that is right for them.

This Bestway video walks the viewer through the features and showcases the spa's qualities, like how many people it fits and how warm the water gets. The customer receives a whole lot of information in under a minute.

Bestway – Lay-Z-Spa Riviera

2. Build a captivating soundscape

Sound still plays a big part in the modern-day video – it can help you tell a story in a more compelling way.

There are, of course, both rewards and risks: In the best-case scenario, sound can create an impactful atmosphere that evokes emotions. In the worst case, the viewer can find the speaker’s voice agitating and turn off the video.

That is luckily not the case in this Fjällräven’s product video, which almost reminds a movie: A pleasantly soft speaker voice walks the viewer through the story of Fjällräven’s materials.

Paired with calming music and spot-on sound effects, it pulls you into the story and keeps you interested throughout the video.

Fjällräven – This is G-1000

3. Demo the product in a concrete way

Good demo videos set the typical technological jargon to the side, and instead focus on showcasing to the customer what they are getting.

Like in this video from Dolby Atmos: the video instantly wows the viewers with its high-quality sound effects and shows the difference between stereo and Dolby technology.

Hearing or seeing the advantages with their own senses creates an aha moment that often precedes buying decisions.

Dolby Atmos – The World of Sound Demo

4. Share real-life reviews

Sometimes it’s hard to separate a really good sales pitch from the truth. That is why consumers have started craving peer reviews. One good idea is to turn these reviews into short videos and offer authenticity amid marketing messages.

This video from Grohe is a mix of both: it first showcases the product in an informative, visual way and then offers glimpses of customers sharing their experiences with it.

Grohe – StarLight Consumer review

5. Offer practical how-to guidance

Guidance videos are a popular genre and for a reason. The goal is to help the customer use the product correctly and unravel some misconceptions that might happen without proper instructions.

With how-to -videos, you can support the full customer journey. First, by helping customers choose the right product, like in this Rukka Pets video which shows how customers should measure their pet’s body correctly to get the size right at once.

Measurement – Rukka Pets

How-to videos also work well in later stages of the customer journey, for example, when showcasing how the product works in practice. Like this Snoreeze video that offers visual guidance on how their snoring-banishing product should be used.

Snoreeze – How to Use the Snoreeze Oral Device

Product videos can also offer guidance for future use. Like in this Bestway video, where the viewer gets a detailed walkthrough of each piece the product includes and step-by-step instructions on how assemble the pool. And then, finally, how to disassemble and store it properly. This type of video will be helpful for years to come.

Bestway – Power Steel Oval Pool

6. Evoke emotions

In a world filled with products, it’s essential to leave a lasting impression – and there’s no better way to do that than by evoking emotions. If you think of videos you remember the best, you likely start thinking of those that made you happy, inspired, sentimental, teary, or excited.

Sometimes creating emotions with your video might require thinking outside of the box. For example, who would have thought you could show off batteries in a playful and funny manner? Ryobi has definitely understood the assignment here.

Ryobi ONE+ Garden Tools Range – 100+ Tools. One Battery.

7. Are simple and straightforward

Sometimes it’s better to keep things simple and sweet: you might have heard attention spans are pretty short these days, so creating videos with just the essentials can be an advantage.

Like in this Baby Bath video, where the attention is drawn right where it belongs: To the product. The ambiance and grey background help keep the focus on what matters most.

Baby Bath – The Foldable Stokke Flexi Bath

8. Educate the audience to make better buying decisions

Sometimes the lack of knowledge can get in the way of making best possible buying decisions. In these cases, educating the audience before trying to sell anything is the right approach.

Hestra Gloves starts by talking about hands and gloves in general – to ensure their customers have all the information they need in order to choose gloves that suit their needs the best.

Hestra Gloves – How to keep your hands warm

Or with Dyson, where the video explains thoroughly the thought process behind the product and why it works and looks like it does.

The Dyson Pure Cool Link™ purifying fan

9. Engage the audience

We all know engagement is crucial, but the question is, how can you create an engaging video? In all honesty, it’s usually not just one or two aspects but the feeling the video creates.

That’s why it’s hard to name just one detail that would make a video engaging. But we tried pinning down some elements that create that feeling.

In these examples, it’s created by the fast pace, upbeat music, and on-point explanation texts. All of these get the customer nodding along and preparing for the next step in the buying process.

PetSafe – Simply Clean Automatic Litter Box

Fiskars – How to Use Fiskars QuikFit Interchangeable Tools

✨ Are you ready to start taking full advantage of product videos? Read here where to find them and how to automatically bring them to your product pages.