How Connected TVs Are Changing the Way We Shop

Shopping from the comfort of one’s couch isn’t a new concept. In fact, HSN and QVC—the competitors-turned-colleagues in the TV shopping space—effectively founded the concept of buying cool products while watching TV.

The way in which consumers are able to engage with their televisions today, though, has changed drastically from the mid-1980s when those stations were first launched. Today, you might be sitting in front of the TV at night, but your attention is really on the endless scroll of memes in your hand. Or, you might be searching through the five different subscription services to find the perfect movie for the moment. Or you might be asking Alexa or ChatGPT for suggestions for a new episodic series to binge.

Connected TV, no matter which way you splice the cord, has upended the media consumption game. And a recent report from Parks Associates found that this space’s next frontier could be t-commerce—television commerce.

There are so. many. numbers. in their “Interactive & Shoppable TV” whitepaper, produced in coordination with Adeia, but the one figure that stands out in particular is this: 8 percent of consumers purchased a physical good through a connected TV platform in the past 30 days. That number paled in comparison to the 24 percent who’ve subscribed to an online video service or the 15 percent who’ve rented or purchased a movie, but it’s a growing figure, and one that shows consumers are engaging with new types of interactive advertising experiences on their connected televisions.

If you’re not familiar, those experiences could include things like an ad on a service like YouTube where clickable overlays allow the user to learn more about the featured product or brand or opt into emails from the brand. Personally, I’ve seen these deployed through YouTube TV and featuring Google’s Pixel phone, or brands that run an ad in a smaller frame and place a giant QR code on the screen.

Bottom line, they’re ads that flip the script on the one-way messaging engine that TV has traditionally has been, and instead makes it an interactive experience where the consumer or viewer is able to engage with the brand in some way.

What’s more, Parks Associates found that consumers are more than willing to go even further with these experiences. According to the white paper, 52 percent of the consumers surveyed said they would be likely or very likely perform at least one of the following actions through a connected TV platform:

• Order food from special promotions on TV
• Click for more info on an item that catches their eye in a program
• Click for more info on an item advertised during a commercial break
• Shop for special merchandise related to the show or event they’re watching
• Purchase items featured on a shopping channel

Another major opportunity comes in the form of sports viewers in particular, who represent some 43 percent of all internet-enabled households in the U.S. The report showed that 32 percent of sports watchers would be interested in placing bets in a streaming service prior to or during a live event.

“Industry players can take productive steps today to advance the interactive TV experience for viewers and advertisers by connecting workflows, making effective use of available data, and optimizing user experience elements for interactivity,” Jennifer Kent, Vice President of Research for Parks Associates, said in a statement earlier this month for the launch of the report. “Success involves building sustainable, scalable solutions for the long term rather than quick, band-aid solutions that address only immediate challenges.”

As connected TVs become central hubs for both entertainment and engagement, it’s interested to see how the line between watching and shopping continues to blur. T-commerce may still be in its early stages, but consumer interest and advancing technology suggest it’s poised for major growth. For brands, now seems to be the time to explore how interactivity, data-driven targeting, and seamless user experiences can turn those passive viewers into active customers. The couch isn’t just for binge-watching anymore—it’s becoming the new checkout lane.