Over the past few months, we’ve been exploring a question that we just couldn’t shake:
Why do so many brands create incredible, emotional, cinematic video content for YouTube and social — and then send us to e-commerce sites that feel like a static grid of boxes?
It’s such a strange contrast.
Scroll any outdoor brand’s Instagram or YouTube and you get transported:
epic shots, strong POVs, athletes you instantly trust, stories that make you feel something.
Then click into their online store…
and suddenly category-leading brands start to all look uncannily the same.
The emotion disappears.
The storytelling drops off.
The distinction evaporates.
And all of it happens at the worst possible time — right when you’re ready to buy.
This gap is the spark that pulled us into this space.
We started asking questions, interviewing brand leaders, and digging into why e-commerce hasn’t kept pace with the evolution of experience — largely fueled by video content.
This post is the start of that journey — and of our focus on video x commerce going forward.
We’ll share what we’ve learned about why e-commerce feels stuck and what we can do to unlock the next wave of e-commerce that will be alive with rich video content.
It’s going to be a ride! Come along.
