SAN JOSE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Roku, Inc. (Nasdaq: ROKU) today announced it is launching a new app that will allow Shopify merchants to easily build, buy, and measure TV streaming advertising campaigns. Roku’s addition to Shopify’s marketing solutions will become the first-ever TV streaming app available in the Shopify App Store, opening the door to small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) to build stronger brands and increase revenue through TV advertising. Designed for merchants to use on their own and with limited ad budgets, Roku’s platform has already shown it can be effective, lifting consideration for one advertiser’s brand by 63%.
Roku’s application, which is slated to launch in advance of the holiday season, will enable Shopify merchants of any size to easily create TV advertising campaigns using precise audiences and measurement throughout their marketing funnel. This is a significant advancement from traditional linear and cable TV advertising solutions, which offer limited targeting and measurement options. Roku is America’s #1 TV streaming platform*, delivering scale with 55.1 million active accounts as of the end of Q2 2021 and more ad impressions served than any other TV streaming platform in Q4 2020**.
The Roku app for Shopify was designed for ease of use and rapid deployment. To get started, Shopify users just need to add the Roku app from the Shopify App Store, select their audience, choose their campaign budget, timing, and duration, and upload creative. Within minutes, they’ll be able to launch their campaigns and deliver their brand and message directly into the living room of tens of millions of households.
As the leading provider of trusted tools to start, grow, market, and manage a retail business of any size, Shopify makes commerce better for everyone with a platform and services that are engineered for reliability, while delivering a better shopping experience for consumers everywhere. The Shopify App Store provides merchants with approximately 7,000 publicly available apps and integrations to help them grow their businesses.
“At Shopify, we’re focused on helping our merchants reach more consumers, boost their sales, and build thriving businesses,” said Amir Kabbara, Director of Product, Shopify. “By launching the new Roku app in the Shopify App Store, merchants can bring their products directly to TV screens, while allowing consumers to discover exciting new brands right from their living room.”
Brands are turning to TV streaming ads in part because of how engaged streamers are with the ads they see. According to a recent holiday shopping survey conducted by Roku and The Harris Poll***, nearly half (49%) of polled consumers said they have seen an ad on their TV streaming device that caused them to pause their TV and shop for a product online, a significant increase from 2020. This “always-on” consumer is a key driver for brands of any size to commit to TV streaming ads.
Merchants using the Roku app in early access include Birthdate Co, Jambys, Moon Pod, and OLIPOP, among others. To get early access to the Roku app, visit https://advertising.roku.com/shopify.
“Roku made it easy for us to launch and scale an effective TV streaming campaign,” said Andrew Goble, Co-Founder of Jambys. “We wanted to invest in ad-supported streaming that could efficiently increase awareness, but also drive real action. With Roku, we were able to reach the right people with the right message at the right time. We measured a 63% increase in consideration among those who saw our ads. And our campaigns on Roku ended up raising the efficiency of other channels, too.”
TV streaming spend in the OneView Ad Platform, which supports our Direct to Consumer (DTC) business, nearly tripled year-over-year in Q2 2021. In addition, 2021 Roku internal data shows 78 percent of Roku users will make a purchase from a small or local business in the next three months (online or in-store)****.
“The shift to TV streaming has accelerated, and growth advertisers need a solution that can solve their top-of-funnel branding needs as well as a simple solution that complements their lower funnel search and social efforts,” said Jared Lefkowitz, Senior Director of Ad Revenue Strategy, Roku. “This is a powerful and simple advertising opportunity for SMBs to reach customers at scale, just as Fortune 500 brands have done for decades. We’re excited to launch an easy-to-use solution for Shopify merchants that drives brand awareness on the biggest screen in the home.”
To learn more about the Roku app for Shopify merchants, visit https://advertising.roku.com/shopify.
About Roku, Inc.
Roku pioneered streaming to the TV. We connect users to the streaming content they love, enable content publishers to build and monetize large audiences, and provide advertisers with unique capabilities to engage consumers. Roku streaming players and TV-related audio devices are available in the U.S. and in select countries through direct retail sales and licensing arrangements with service operators. Roku TV™ models are available in the U.S. and in select countries through licensing arrangements with TV OEM brands. Roku is headquartered in San Jose, Calif. U.S.A.
*Based on hours streamed. Source: Hypothesis Group, April 2021.
**Source: Pixalate State of Connected TV/OTT: Ad Supply Trends Report, Q4 2020.
***Source: Roku and Harris Poll, The Season of Streaming Report, September 2021.
****According to survey results of approximately 1,900 Roku users in the U.S. conducted from 8/27-9/2/2021.
This press release contains “forward-looking” statements that are based on our beliefs and assumptions and on information currently available to us on the date of this press release. Forward-looking statements may involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause our actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. These statements include but are not limited those related to the features, benefits, timing, and availability of the Roku application in the Shopify App Store; trends related to TV streaming, marketing, shopping and advertising; and the features, benefits, growth and reach of the Roku platform. Except as required by law, we assume no obligation to update these forward-looking statements publicly, or to update the reasons actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in the forward-looking statements, even if new information becomes available in the future. Important factors that could cause our actual results to differ materially are detailed from time to time in the reports Roku, Inc. files with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2020 and our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended June 30, 2021. Copies of reports filed with the SEC are posted on Roku’s website and are available from Roku without charge.
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