After a year's worth of consumer watch time, Firework videos are working for The Fresh Market.
The partnership between Greensboro, N.C.-based The Fresh Market and Firework, a live commerce and “shoppable” video platform, recently reached a milestone in attracting next-generation customers to the specialty grocer’s online shopping space. The retailer has surpassed 365 days of total watch time for its Firework-enabled video content.
On the Firework platform, 'swipeable' interactive technology lets shoppers engage directly with brand and product videos. (Image courtesy of Firework)
Since first implementing Firework's video-driven “shoppertainment” format earlier this year, The Fresh Market has seen double-digit growth across several key performance indicators, San Mateo, Calif.-based Firework reported. Those KPIs include a +97% conversion rate for Firework’s short-form videos at thefreshmarket.com versus the sitewide average since launch, a +47% click-through rate for dedicated Firework emails versus the overall email click-through rate pre-launch, and a double-digit increase in click-through rate and ad recall on Facebook posts featuring Firework video versus those without.
“A differentiated customer experience has been integral to The Fresh Market’s identity since our founding,” commented Kevin Miller, chief marketing officer at The Fresh Market, which operates 159 stores in 22 states. “With Firework, we’ve finally been able to replicate those premium customer experiences in the digital sphere, and based on the response from our customers, it has been a resounding success. What we’ve been able to accomplish with Firework in such a short period of time has been nothing short of transformative.”
The Fresh Market enlisted Firework in the fourth quarter of 2021 to extend its brand’s reach and appeal to next-generation consumers in its digital-first approach. The platform allows users to create, host and curate engaging short-form and livestream video on any website. That capability, Firework said, enables any retailer, direct-to-consumer brand, media publisher or business to own, engage and monetize a community around short-form video.
The “swipeable” interactive technology lets consumers engage directly with brand and product videos, while on-site hosting gives businesses direct access to consumer data and monetization opportunities from their shoppable video content. Retailers, too, can sell “digital shelf space” — in the form of video ads — to brands that they carry.
The Fresh Market’s digital transformation with Firework included a livestream sales event that showcased its new store in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla. The fully managed livestream outperformed industry averages, including an eightfold increase in live engagement rates and a threefold increase in product click-through rates, compared with eMarketer industry averages, Firework reported. The livestream, hosted on the grocer’s web property, attracted 4.8 times more viewers than the event’s social media simulcast.
“Video is the new lingua franca of next-generation digital consumers,” according to Jason Holland, president and chief business officer for Firework. “With Firework, forward-looking brands like The Fresh Market are able to translate their own identity and messaging into this new, universal language with the fluency, ease and authenticity that resonate with these audiences and keep them engaged.”
