The online shopping experience is more helpful for consumers than ever before. That’s because for any retailer, the question now isn’t whether they’re online, but how easy it is for customers to find what they want and make an informed decision. We’re continuing to see growth of video and other high engagement content such as better product images and gift finders being used to attract and retain customers.

This is of paramount importance for apparel and accessory retailers, since shopping for apparel, accessories and beauty products is a highly-personal activity. Ensuring correct fit or style, testing makeup colors, or seeing how a backpack or bag fits the wearer’s frame all are major influencers in deciding on whether a purchase is right.

For technical gear, users want to know if it’s made well and durable, easy to assemble and what its specifications are. User videos, company-generated videos and images showing the various features are clear ways to give users have a clearer understanding. Other reference points, like product images from multiple angles or with a model can help inform users of scale and fit.

It’s even more helpful to take video integration one step further by embedding videos in search results, so customers don’t need to click onto product detail pages to find video content. Easy access to the right products will help drive clicks and conversions.

A Gift Finder feature is also really useful in helping those shopping for others find the best products by narrowing down possibilities by feature or personality. Bestbuyeyeglasses.com helps users refine their styles by gender, age, and color. Features like these that aid shoppers in finding products and add concrete value will help drive repeat visits.

There are also a variety of ways to integrate social media content in the form of videos, reviews, blogs that I’ll talk about in my next blog post.

What are your favorite sites that feature video or other content that is meant to engage users?