A Plastic Flute for 60 Euros: Successful E-Commerce with Storytelling

A Plastic Flute for 60 Euros: Successful E-Commerce with Storytelling

With an experiment, Rob Walker and Joshua Glenn demonstrated the influence of stories on e-commerce sales. Bought at the flea market for an average of one US-Dollar, the two auctioned old items on the Internet describing them with fictional stories. The outcome: an average price increase of 2,700 percent. Author Deb Olin Unferth come up with a good example for a trivial plastic flute: a small African country, an ambassador, a prince, who rode through the country for two days on a horse only to present the flute. The story’s – according to the authors – objective value got the plastic flute sold for a proud price of 60 Euros.

Whether environmentalism, social commitment or people, who tell stories: we don’t only simply want to hear which product is the best. From browsing through the online shop all the way to the shopping cart – online shopping needs to become a real experience, especially for the young consumers. After all we, as the Generation Y, are oh so great at shopping online. And also the Gen-Zs are about to be at the ready. About time now to tell where one is from and where the journey is headed, which obstacles there were to overcome and who has one’s back. Stories create emotions and identification. Many online shops are already betting on the power of storytelling. We took a closer look at the most gripping ones:

Where Cocoa comes from: Storytelling with Rausch

Source: Screenshot Website Rausch

In 1890, Wilhelm Rausch opened a small confectionary for chocolate, truffles and pralines – about thirty years later his son establishes today’s Rausch company in Berlin and ever since has been providing chocolate-lovers from all over the world with his high-class products – and this for now approximately 100 years. Still the company of long tradition remains modern: Christmas 2015 they switched from retail to e-commerce. The online shop too reflects that quality is a huge priority for Rausch. From fine cocoa on the plantation all the way to the finished praline: Rausch describes the journey of the cocoa beans from the beginning till the end. With the options origin, relevance, taste and processing the visitor is guided through the region around the equator and the world of chocolate. “In 1998 we began to visit all the regions of origin along the equator to look for the best and finest cocoa. Wherever we found them, also Rausch is at home today – an indescribable feeling”, explains Jürgen Rausch.

Why we love their story:

Here, the customer can not only shop and purchase things. The online shop gives him the opportunity to delve into the world of chocolate and the company’s history. Customers want to browse and be seduced into impulse purchases. Gripping stories and pictures around the product are vital. At Rausch the origin of chocolate, the way each region is chosen, the important values of the company, as well as the special features of the product, get told. Step by step and picture by picture the chocolate-lover gets to scroll through the universe of fine cocoa…almost as addicting as the chocolate itself. We say: storytelling at its finest.

Share your Story: Storytelling with BURTON

Source: Screenshot Website BURTON

On the BURTON website travel- and sports-fans can not only find snowboards and the newest outdoor-clothes but also tell their own stories. Whether flurry of snow, summiteer or all the way to Iceland: with the hashtag #nobadtrips inspiring moments get collected on Instagram and featured on BURTON’s Instagram channel and online shop. With one mouse click the products in the pictures can then be bought in the online shop.

Why we love their story:

The customers of tomorrow want to be inspired and attain adventurous vibes along with the product. Therefor emotional imagery and product presentation are in demand – the keyword here is visual storytelling. BURTON is doing everything right as stories are told and experienced. With pictures, they let their target audience write the stories around the products. This way the customer becomes part of the community. Identification and individual interaction are becoming more and more relevant for brand loyalty. The links to the shop then ensure a full shopping cart. If I see a product on Instagram or the website I can order it with just one click – it’s called shoppable content and it’s gaining popularity with online shops. We like it: clicking through the pictures whets our appetite for traveling. The presented products are found easily and fast.

Happy Customers: Storytelling with “Kauf Dich Glücklich”

Source: Screenshot Website Kauf Dich Glücklich

Whether fashion, interiors, food, travelling or simply the hottest trends – the German blog of “Kauf Dich Glücklich” (which translates to “shop yourself happy”) offers everything the heart desires. Here too, every content is purchasable. Next to recipe ideas, book recommendations and styling-trends the favorite looks of employees and even the ones of the customers get introduced with the “Insta tag of the week”. At the end of every story the reader arrives in the right shop with just one click on the product.

Why we love their story:

Good vibes? Check. Community? Check. Emotions and humor? Check – The blog of “Kauf dich Glücklich” comes along with real added value. When online shops only bait with discount codes and lotteries the shopping cart won’t stay full in the long run. Then, high quality products are just sold below their value. A shop, which at first view seems like a magazine and is only on the second glance connected to certain products, is attractive and invites to browse again tomorrow. If potential customers visit the website for stories, mood boards and ideas, this action of course will lead to more spontaneous shopping. If you want the content to really get read and readers to turn into customers, the stories’ relevance for the target audience is essential. And now: excuse us, we are going to shop ourselves happy.