Roku's Shopify app enables small business TV ad campaigns

Roku Announces New Shopify App for Small Businesses to Easily Launch and Measure TV Streaming Ad Campaigns

SAN JOSE, Calif. — 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 the 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.

“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.”

* 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.