• by Laurie Sullivan , Staff Writer @lauriesullivan, September 19, 2014

Visual content usually guides purchase decisions, especially video. It also prompts searches and sharing. We are more likely to remember brand messages with video. Some retailers have added spin photography that allows shoppers to get a 360-degree view of the product.

Forrester Research says content is much more likely to land on page one in Google search query results if it includes video.

Video keeps consumers on sites longer. U.S. adults will spend an average of 21 minutes each day on Facebook in 2014, according to eMarketer. Some of that time will be spent watching video. The research firm doesn't break down the numbers by activity, but it did release numbers that predict video will take 15.9% of U.S. adults' digital time in 2014, compared with 11.7% of U.S. advertisers' budget.

Average time spent per day with all major media among U.S. adults will rise 21 minutes from 2013 -- reaching 12 hours, 28 minutes in 2014, per eMarketer. This year, time spent on digital devices will comprise nearly half that, or 5 hours and 46 minutes.

Research from Invodo suggests consumers are more than 1.8 times more likely to buy a product or service after watching a video. Some 67% of video viewers watch to 80% completion. When it comes to devices, percentages vary. Some 69.8% will view a video on a desktop computer, with 16.8% on a smartphone and 13.4% on a tablet.

About one-third of video views occur on a mobile device, per Invodo. Site visitors on a mobile device are much more likely to watch a video, at about 24%. Some 11.4% of site visitors view video if given the option, and 78% of viewers found video helpful, giving a four- or five-star review.

The data comes from Invodo's Video Commerce Benchmarks Report:Q2 2014, which covers video program metrics like conversion impact, cross-channel activity, views, engagement, and ratings from sites using the company's platform. The report is based on data collected between April 1 and June 30, 2014. The company claims it has influenced more than 74 million purchase decisions for about 100 of the world’s largest brands and retailers.