In-stream shopping pilot with RTL+ and Zalando

The leading German streaming service RTL+ is teaming up with Zalando, the leading online destination for fashion and lifestyle, to test a completely new service in March 2024 – and fans of the hit series “Gute Zeiten, schlechte Zeiten” can be the first to take advantage of it! Thanks to a technical innovation, viewers can now shop in-stream for fashion products directly related to the content of the episodes via the RTL+ app. In addition, it is possible to access scene-specific information on the cast and music. The interactive offer is available immediately via the RTL+ iOS apps. The pilot project is being implemented in collaboration between RTL Germany, the production company UFA Serial Drama, Zalando and the technical partner Jay.

“User behaviour in fashion e-commerce is constantly changing. That’s why we are continuously testing how we can better meet the needs of our customers with inspiring and entertaining content revolving around fashion and lifestyle,” says Matthias Haase, Director Content Solutions at Zalando SE. “Our customers are inspired in many different ways. Series and films are definitely one of them. With the joint pilot project with RTL+, we can offer this inspiration paired with a direct multimedia shopping experience for the first time. We look forward to learning how customers accept this experience.”

Henning Nieslony, Chief Streaming Officer RTL Germany: “We are continuously developing our all-inclusive entertainment offering on RTL+. In doing so, we always keep a close eye on our customers’ feedback. The pilot project for ‘Gute Zeiten, schlechte Zeiten’ is particularly exciting for us because it covers many frequently expressed wishes of our users. We are very pleased to be implementing it together with our partners at UFA, Zalando and Jay and to gain new insights into the use of such offers.”

This service is technically implemented by the technology platform Jay, a service by transfermedia from Potsdam-Babelsberg. For this purpose, information from the production of the content is summarized, combined with the Zalando offer and transferred directly to the RTL+ streaming app in real time.

“All information and the entire shopping process are displayed directly in the streaming app. And as simply and intuitively as possible. We never lead viewers out of the viewing experience,” says Peter Effenberg, Founder of Jay.

The new in-stream shopping offer has been available directly in the stream for all RTL+ users with iOS, iPadOS and macOS devices since March 11.