TiVo And PayPal Team On In-Ad Shopping

TiVo and PayPal have inked a deal for streamlined shopping in interactive advertisements, turning the remote into a gateway to the digital wallet. The new service, which will begin showing up in TiVo adverts from this fall, will allow subscribers to charge products directly to their PayPal account, with automatic shipping to the registered address.

Initial setup is a one-time thing, TiVo promises, consisting of linking your PayPal account with your TiVo account. The interactive shopping content will be shown in TiVo ads and Showcase campaigns, both to direct TiVo subscribers and MSO customers such as RCN, Suddenlink and others.

"This integration creates a new opportunity for advertisers and brands to connect with TiVo users and to turn their 30-second spots and interactive TiVo ad placements into actionable purchasing opportunities through a one-time account link" the two companies say, which sounds a bit heavy on the marketing hyperbole but could make a big difference to the home shopping experience.

The holy grail for businesses has always been a seamless way of transitioning viewers from seeing an advert to a place where they can actually buy the product or service, and being able to do it directly from the remote seems like a pretty bump-free route.

Neither company has said which firms are signed up for the interactive shopping adverts, and we'll presumably hear more later on in the year when the service launches.