UGC
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The secrets of an e-commerce video that converts and boosts your sales
Thomas Billiau
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February 23, 2026
In today's e-commerce ecosystem, UGC (User Generated Content) videos are transforming the way your customers interact with your products. Unlike traditional advertising campaigns, often perceived as intrusive, user-generated content stands out for its authenticity and its ability to build immediate trust.
Concretely, a UGC video is an audiovisual piece created by a consumer, a loyal customer, or a content creator, showcasing a product in a real-life usage context. This format addresses an essential need for reassurance: more than 80% of consumers say that user-generated content influences their purchasing decision more than professional brand visuals.
The tutorial is the go-to format for removing barriers related to product use. It's not just about saying the product works — it's about proving how it works.
This format is particularly crucial for products requiring specific gestures or techniques (skincare, DIY, tech). A 30 to 45-second video showing the product in concrete use can drastically reduce product returns caused by misunderstanding.
The technical integration of these tutorials on your product pages is critical to avoid degrading your Core Web Vitals. Solutions like PlayShorts allow you to embed these tutorial videos smoothly, without bloating the code or slowing down page load time, ensuring an optimal user experience while preserving the speed necessary for SEO.
Unboxing capitalizes on the excitement of receiving a package. This format plays on consumer psychology by mimicking the shopping experience. It is particularly effective for brands that put care into their packaging (DNVBs, luxury, subscription boxes).
The key elements of a great unboxing include the showcasing of the outer packaging, ASMR elements (paper sounds, opening sounds) for sensory immersion, and the discovery of the little extras such as samples or thank-you notes.
This is a format that validates the quality of your logistics service and the attention to detail — two essential criteria for customer loyalty.
The video customer review, or "video testimonial," represents the 2.0 version of the star rating. Seeing a human face express satisfaction in their own words generates an unmatched level of trust. Unlike text, which can be fabricated, video conveys non-verbal signals of honesty.
To be effective, this review should be structured yet natural. The customer should mention their initial skepticism (if there was any) and how the product solved their problem.
In sectors like cosmetics, fitness, or home care, the Before/After format is incredibly powerful. It delivers instant visual gratification and irrefutable proof of the product's effectiveness. This format must follow one golden rule: visual authenticity.
Lighting and framing conditions must be similar between the two sequences so as not to bias the result. The editing should be dynamic (quick cut) to maintain attention and quickly deliver the final result the "payoff."
The lifestyle video takes the product out of the studio and anchors it in "real life." It allows the prospect to picture themselves using it: "If this person who looks like me uses this bag for work, then it's made for me." This type of content works on brand imagery and community belonging. It is less focused on technical features and more on style and values.
It's an excellent format for social media (Instagram Reels, TikTok).
Educational content positions your brand as an authority in its field. It's not about selling directly, but about explaining "why" or "how" to improve daily life through the product. For example, for a dietary supplement brand, a UGC video explaining "3 tips for better sleep" (featuring the product) delivers free value.
This type of content generates reciprocity and engagement, turning the visitor into a qualified audience ready to listen to your product recommendations.
Content sourcing is often the main bottleneck for brands. Yet there are three distinct channels to industrialize this production without sacrificing quality.
For brands looking to scale their video production without managing the complex logistics of individual contracts, matchmaking platforms are the ideal solution. These platforms centralize thousands of UGC creators who are not necessarily influencers with a large following, but talented content creators capable of producing authentic, engaging videos.
The process is seamless: you submit a brief, ship your products, and receive ready-to-use videos. This guarantees deadline adherence and technical quality that often surpasses that of an average customer review, while still maintaining the natural, "real person" aesthetic you're looking for.
Your existing customers are your best and often untapped source of content. Every day, satisfied users spontaneously share their purchases in Stories or on TikTok. PlayShorts' UGC Search feature automates the detection of these gems.
The tool scans social media to automatically find mentions of your brand and associated tags. Rather than spending hours on manual monitoring, you get access to a dashboard gathering all content where your brand appears. You can then request usage rights in just a few clicks and integrate these authentic videos directly on your e-commerce site. This is the most organic method for obtaining social proof.
If your needs involve large-scale campaigns requiring sharp creative direction while keeping the UGC aesthetic codes, specialized agencies are worth considering. A growing number of agencies now focus exclusively on UGC content production, offering end-to-end support: creator sourcing, scripting, shooting guidelines, and post-production editing.
These agencies typically work with vetted networks of high-performing creators and tailor their approach depending on the platform whether you're running ads on TikTok, Meta, or YouTube.
From performance-driven creatives to more narrative and brand-focused content, they offer full strategic support, guaranteeing videos optimized for conversion and aligned with your brand identity.
Creating a high-performing UGC video is not something you can wing. Even if the result needs to look spontaneous, the narrative structure must be rigorous to maximize retention and conversion.
Total improvisation rarely works for conversion. A good UGC script must be simple, punchy, and authentic. It is recommended to follow the proven marketing framework: the Hook to immediately grab the target audience's attention, the Problem to verbalize the customer's pain point or need, the Solution to present the product as the obvious answer, the Proof through demonstration, results, or testimonials, and finally the CTA (Call to Action) to clearly tell viewers what to do next, such as "Click the link" or "Order now."
In the endless scroll of social media, you don't get a second chance. The hook is critical: the first 2 to 3 seconds are decisive for capturing attention and stopping the scroll. You need to use a visual disruption a quick movement, impactful text or a punchy line like "I almost didn't buy this, and yet…" If the viewer isn't hooked immediately, the rest of your argument, however strong it may be, will never be seen.
Brevity is the mother of effectiveness on mobile. The optimal duration for a UGC video sits between 15 and 60 seconds, depending on the distribution platform. For TikTok and Shorts, aim for 15 to 30 seconds for a very fast-paced rhythm. For Reels and Ads, you can go up to 45 to 60 seconds if the storytelling is compelling. Beyond one minute, completion rates drop drastically, reducing the impact of your message and your final CTA.
Producing videos is a first step distributing them intelligently is another. UGC is a versatile marketing asset that should flow through all of your acquisition and retention channels.
On platforms like Meta (Facebook/Instagram) and TikTok Ads, UGC-style creatives systematically outperform traditional brand visuals. They blend into the news feed (native advertising) and bypass users' "ad blindness." The cost per acquisition (CPA) is often reduced by 20 to 50% with this type of format.
Pro tip: Don't settle for a single video. It's crucial to create up to 20 different versions per product — varying only the hook or the first 3 seconds — to optimize ad performance. Ad algorithms need volume to test and identify the winning variant through creative testing.
Email is often perceived as a static channel (text and images). Integrating video brings new dynamism and significantly increases the click-through rate (CTR). PlayShorts' Email Stories feature allows you to embed animated previews (optimized GIFs) of your UGC directly in the body of the email. On click, the user is redirected to an immersive video experience.
Pro tip: Integrate a "Testimonial" or "Unboxing" UGC video into your abandoned cart email sequences. This is the precise moment when the prospect is hesitating — a video social proof can overcome the last objections and trigger the final purchase.
Integrating UGC videos on product pages or the homepage replicates the social media experience directly on your store. This increases time spent on site and the overall conversion rate. However, the technical integration can be heavy. Using a dedicated solution like PlayShorts lets you add video carousels (Instagram Stories-style) or shoppable videos without any technical expertise. This creates a seamless bridge between inspiration (social media) and action (purchase on the site), while keeping control over data and the user experience.
A UGC (User Generated Content) video is content created by a user, customer, or creator, presenting a product authentically, as opposed to ads produced by brands.
You can go through specialized platforms, collaborate with micro-influencers, or directly ask your satisfied customers to film their experience.
The average cost is around €250 for a professional UGC video through a platform or specialized creator, though this can vary depending on the complexity of the brief.
