Delivery Agent and PayPal will try to make it easier for consumers to make purchases using remote controls or second-screen video applications.
Delivery Agent, which got its start by powering Web browser-based storefronts run by programmers, retail brand and MSO partners in 2005, has been turning its attention to the television ever since. Its new t-commerce deal with PayPal intends to accelerate and streamline that capability.
That check-out process has historically been the “Achilles Heel of T-commerce,” said Delivery Agent CEO Mike Fitzsimmons. The integration with PayPal, which should be done by the second half of 2013, will simplify the number of fields a customer must enter to complete a transaction and amp up sales conversion rates, he said.
Delivery Agent already works with several major pay TV operators, including Verizon FiOS TV, Cablevision Systems, Comcast, AT&T U-verse, and has integrated its commerce system with Samsung’s Smart TV platform. It also works with about 60 programmers, including NBCUniversal, CBS, Discovery Communications, A+E Television Networks, Fox, and Showtime. PayPal announced partnerships with Comcast and TiVo last year.
Fitzsimmons said Delivery Agent is also working on deals with the nation’s top 100 retailers that will use the PayPal/Delivery Agent combo to sell products via the TV. Pepsi is already one of Delivery Agent’s key partners.
Also on Tuesday, Delivery Agent released study finding that 68% of 1,100 respondents were interested or very interested in using their TV to shop. The study, conducted from March to May, also found that 82% of those surveyed would be interested in buying products seen in or tied to their favorite shows.
Apparel, entertainment products, food, beauty and health/wellness products, travel, and autos were the most popular product categories for TV-based purchasing.
Delivery Agent made the announcements in tandem with week’s TV of Tomorrow Show in San Francisco.
