Paramount Global will debut a new mobile shopping experience, powered by Shopsense AI, during the CMT Music Awards red carpet pre-show on April 7, 2024.
Paramount is the inaugural partner for Shopsense’s new retail media platform, which allows viewers to shop for products and curated collections inspired by television content on content providers’ apps and ecommerce sites. During the CMT Awards live pre-show, viewers will be directed to ShopCMTAwards.com for a second-screen shopping experience where they can browse and buy items from a curated collection of looks inspired by what the stars are wearing onscreen.
“Paramount’s premium entertainment content consistently influences consumer shopping journeys,” said John Halley, President of Paramount Advertising in a statement. “TV is no longer just a top-of-the-funnel awareness generator. It is a one-to-one vehicle that brings the full funnel to the living room. We’re thrilled to launch with the Shopsense AI platform at the CMT Music Awards to capitalize on fandom and see it expressed through commerce.”
And the CMT Awards are only the beginning: on April 9, viewers of CBS Sports’ Golazo Network will be able to buy their favorite team-, player- and host-inspired merchandise, and the CBS Daytime show The Talk will become shoppable beginning April 12.
“With so many consumers scrolling on their phones while they watch TV on a bigger screen, content publishers like Paramount have been looking for ways to activate a frictionless, personalized and convenient second-screen shopping experience for their viewers,” said Glenn Fishback, CEO and Co-founder of Shopsense AI in a statement. “Shopsense AI provides an end-to-end solution that makes it easy for consumers to shop their favorite products on a second device while they watch TV — without having to deal with clunky QR codes or find the missing remote. Our AI-curated storefronts instantly turn every show into a shopping journey that features an endless selection of products to browse and purchase versus a labor-intensive experience where they have to manually select items.”
Paramount is far from the only network looking to enter the realm of shoppable TV:
- In January, Disney debuted its first native streaming shoppable ad format called Gateway Shop;
- NBCUniversal has been aggressively pursuing the idea with the debut of an integrated online marketplace and hundreds of shoppable TV experiences, as well as a recent tie-up with Walmart;
- Amazon is moving quickly into the space with Prime X-Ray and other offerings;
- Roku has teamed up with a number of retailers, including Walmart and Best Buy; and
- LG is experimenting on the hardware side in partnership with video commerce solution TheTake.
