Video commerce firm TheTake has partnered with smart TV manufacturer LG Electronics and a range of media companies to allow viewers to “shop shows” for fashion, accessories, homeware, tech devices and even menu and recipe items.
Beginning this spring, owners of LG’s webOS Smart TVs will be able to purchase hundreds of different products identified and tagged by TheTake’s proprietary technology, which has scanned and identified hundreds of items per television episode and film.
“Shoppable video has been talked about since the days of Rachel’s sweater on ‘Friends’,” said TheTake co-founder and CEO Tyler Cooper. “Previous solutions haven’t addressed the long-tail opportunity where each individual viewer wants to shop for something different. Shoppable video isn’t just about Rachel’s sweater, but also Chandler’s jacket, Joey’s sunglasses, Monica’s couch and so on. To address the full breadth of consumer interest, we leverage machine learning to make more than 500 products shoppable in a given episode of television. We’re excited to bring our AI-powered solution to viewers with LG and our various content partners.”
With a record amount of TV content produced last year, TheTake’s machine-learning algorithms enable product identification and tagging at scale. TheTake’s technology can currently identify several hundred million products from thousands of retail partners when and where they appear in various TV episodes and movies.
“The ability to seamlessly shop for the items we see in our favorite shows and movies is something we’ve long wanted to bring to LG smart TV users,” said LG Electronics US head of home entertainment brand marketing Michelle Fernandez. “Now, in partnership with TheTake, we’re introducing the feature on LG’s 2020 smart TVs for the easiest and most consumer-friendly experience for shopping the looks from TV and movies.”
TheTake’s AI feature will be available on all 2020 LG OLED, LG NanoCell and UHD smart TV models installed with the webOS smart TV platform. TheTake has negotiated an agreement with a large US MVPD to roll out the technology across millions of set-top boxes later this year. And TheTake has also partnered with WarnerMedia, A+E Networks, Crown Media Family Networks, NBC Universal and others to roll out the technology over their various channels throughout the year.