The Super Bowl halftime show will be shoppable via smartphones and other devices for the first time this year, enabling viewers to purchase a Katy Perry item that will be unveiled during the program.

The halftime show is an event in itself, attracting viewers interested in the singing, dancing and the spectacle of the overall production. Giving them a way to easily purchase what they see takes advantage of the trend toward more viewers watching with a smartphone in hand to comment on the show via social media.

“What is groundbreaking is the number of platforms that this is going to be initiated against,” Mike Fitzsimmons, CEO of Delivery Agent, San Francisco.

“We have a number of different purchase streams to make it as easy as possible for viewers,” he said.

Delivery Agent’s ShopTV platform is enabling the halftime shopping experience.

Contextual shopping
The shoppable halftime show experience extends across multiple devices, platforms and brands, including Samsung, Roku, LG, Twitter, Shazam, Visa and Pepsi.

Viewers engaged on Twitter during the halftime show will be served shoppable tweets sent by brand and platform partners enabling them to click on the “Buy Now” button to make a purchase.

Those using the Shazam application to engage with the music during the halftime show from their smartphones will be able to purchase contextual products at the same time.

Viewers on a connected Samsung Smart TV will be able to use their remote control to shop. They will be able to use their remote controls to checkout on the TV itself or to enter their mobile phone number and have an SMS sent to them with link to the checkout ability.

Viewers can also use the new ShopTV Roku app to shop via their remote controls during and after the game.

Visa Checkout will be the exclusive ShopTV payment provider for the program.

Second screen experiences
Football fans will be made aware of the shoppable halftime show experience via a comprehensive campaign that will include digital TV and online ads, social media and email.

The limited-edition item on sale will be available and marketed through Feb. 3 and 5 pm PT.

Last year, retailer H&M teamed up with Delivery Agent to make its Super Bowl TV commercial shoppable, a first at the time.

Over the course of the past year, Delivery Agent has worked with a number of other partners, including Overstock, Sony, Dunkin’ Donuts and Food Network, to bring shoppable TV experiences to viewers.

The data from these efforts validates industry numbers such as that 85 percent are using a second screen while watching TV and 40 percent are shopping while doing so.

“We’ve seen a pretty significant usage of push to mobile for checkout as opposed to remote control,” Mr. Fitzsimmons said. “It is quite easy to enter in a mobile number and check out from the smartphone.

“Proportionally, I would expect it to stay the same during the halftime show, with viewers using the primary screen to push the checkout to the secondary screen,” he said.

“At this stage, the consumer appears to be more comfortable using the smartphone as the last mile of the checkout experience than they are using the remote.”

Final Take
Chantal Tode is senior editor on Mobile Commerce Daily, New York