On Tuesday, Amazon.com was awarded a patent for web video technology. What is the technology? Well, it will allow people who order items on Amazon to watch a video of their product being packed, labeled and shipped to them.
The idea behind the technology is to reduce refunds and create trust. When a person has a choice between ordering from two merchants, say Amazon or a mom and pop web site, Amazon is hoping to win the battle by reassuring people…with video…that the exact product they ordered is being professionally packed and correctly shipped to them.
In addition, the hope is that customers will “self-police” their orders and let Amazon know, for example, if a wrong product is being shipped. In other words, proactive customer service. It’s an interesting twist in online ordering, where trust is often a greater concern for people than price. It will also be interesting to see what the bottom line results of this new video technology will be.
Do you have any examples or sample pages of this?
@Brooks – This is new, Amazon hasn’t started doing it yet. When they do, and you order from Amazon, you’ll get a link for a video included in your sales receipt.