• by Karlene Lukovitz  @KLmarketdaily, April 23, 2020

With most brick-and-mortar retailers struggling as consumers shelter at home, NBCUniversal has launched an ecommerce engine that allows consumers to buy directly through its ShoppableTV system or other content on linear, digital or social media. 

NBCUniversal Checkout is designed to let any business — local, national or direct-to-consumer— readily create a virtual storefront. 

The function is an embeddable cart that make products within any video or article on NBCU’s One Platform ad-buying system shoppable, or enable a direct product buy from linear programming through the network’s ShoppableTV technology. 

The original iteration of ShoppableTV, launched last fall, lets viewers who see an on-screen QSR code for a product that they like point their mobile-device cameras at the code to be taken to the brand’s commerce site for purchasing. 

With Checkout, when viewers see a code for a participating product in branded or editorial content on linear, digital or social media, they can click on it and make a purchase instantly, without interrupting the video or show. 

In addition to providing help with creating, building and distributing marketing materials, NBCU is waiving technology and cart fees on Shoppable TV and digital branded content for participating retailers from now through the end of the year.