KERV Interactive dives into mainstream shopping TV

KERV Interactive (founded in 2017 and listed under the trading name of Grabit Interactive Media, Inc.), through its NBCU partnership and funding, is well positioned to be at the vanguard of third-way monetisation alternatives going into an era of retention and increasing digital sophistication among consumers.

This follows on from the February 2023 NBCU announcement that it was extending the functionality of Must ShopTV and its NBCU Checkout platform with direct integration on Peacock. Ultimately, this is recognition of the rapidly evolving need to replicate pay-TV, non-subscription monetisation models onto streaming TV. 

KERV Interactive is providing the tech functionality to identify objects in video and make them interactive and shoppable, with viewers being served the exact or similar products within the One Platform Commerce marketplace. With purchases made possible via a TV remote control device, NBCU can identify the product matches that align with those in NBCU shows, and those that are available for purchase, while viewers are watching the content.

KERV utilises “computer vision tech” that will be trained on the marketplace of “the millions of products” that NBCU Checkout carries. Effectively, KERV uses AI and machine learning technology to drive precise metadata ingestion and processing. It is a fully automated, product-focused interface that allows video viewers to explore and shop for products featured in the content of the “creative”. The tech features a product carousel, customisable transaction areas, product images, product details, and unique customer interaction customisation. A further iteration allows for the partitioning of the content into shoppable and non-shoppable areas, depending on the requirements of the distributor and creative teams behind the content.

Shoppable TV has had several false dawns, but with TV now firmly in the streaming-TV era, the odds are increasingly in favour of shoppable TV tech providers, such as KERV Interactive. Expect mainstream shopping-TV audiences to converge with increasingly digitally savvy streaming audiences, ushering in a new third wave of streaming monetisation, with KERV being well placed to benefit from this shift in consumer behaviour.

Roles

This report is relevant to the following roles:

Business Strategy