The partnership will see Zappos.com rolling out the Ottawa company's new retail solution in two phases, initially enabling the interactive video capabilities on "engagement pages" with specific brands such as Nike, before implementing the technology on all product pages.
Overlay.TV's solution allows customers to shop for the products they see in the video descriptions by clicking directly on the videos. It also provides the capability for shoppers to create video testimonials on the retailer's site, and embed them on their personal social networking sites and blogs, while preserving the e-commerce links on the testimonials.
The clickable videos will also dynamically show if the product becomes out of stock or discontinued, or if it goes on sale.
"The ability to see a product in action, to click on it for more information, to share it on Facebook, and add it to your cart without even leaving the page is a major change for this industry," said Overlay.TV CEO Rob Lane in a statement. "Our approach is 100 per cent about improving the customer experience and giving them the tools to share that experience with their networks, which makes what we're doing a perfect fit for Zappos."
The company noted that the partnership is a major one as Nevada-based Zappos reported net sales of US$635 million in its fiscal 2008. Zappos was recently acquired by online retailing giant Amazon for more than $1 billion.
Overlay.TV's other clients include ElleCanada.com and United Way Toronto, as well as Hollywood Records.
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