UGC video
A UGC video is a short product clip filmed by a real person, usually a customer or a small creator, rather than by a brand's in-house studio. It looks handheld and honest, and it is used on social feeds, product pages, and shoppable video widgets to show how the product behaves in real life.
A UGC video is a short product clip filmed by a real person, usually a customer or a small creator, rather than by a brand's in-house studio. It looks handheld and honest, and it is used on social feeds, product pages, and shoppable video widgets to show how the product behaves in real life.
UGC video is a clip filmed by a real person about a product. It is not a polished commercial shot on a set. It looks like something a friend would record on her phone: handheld, vertical, lit by a window, talking straight to the camera. The person might be a paying customer, a micro-influencer, or a creator the brand sent product to. The point is that the viewer believes a human, not a brand, is doing the talking.
On a D2C store, UGC plays the role that a shop assistant plays in a physical store. It answers the quiet questions: does the kurta fall well on a real body, does the serum actually feel sticky, does the bag fit a 13 inch laptop. Polished studio video struggles to do this because it looks staged. A clip with the creator's bedroom in the background tends to be trusted more, even when production value is low.
Brands collect UGC three ways. They repost customer reels with permission. They send free product to small creators and ask for an honest video. Or they run a UGC brief where multiple creators submit clips for a fee. The video is then used on the product page, on Reels and TikTok, in WhatsApp broadcasts, and inside shoppable video widgets on the website itself.
On beyondRegular
On beyondRegular, UGC is the format that does most of the work. You import a creator's reel from Instagram or TikTok directly, or upload a clip a customer sent on WhatsApp, then tag the products that appear in the frame. The clip plays inside a carousel, a bubble, or a reel feed on your store, and the shopper can tap the tag to add to cart while the video keeps playing. Checkout still runs through your own Razorpay, Shopify Payments, or Cashfree setup. For a kurta brand in Jaipur or a skincare label in Bangalore, this turns the trust of a creator clip into a path to purchase without sending the shopper back to Instagram.
Common questions
Is UGC the same as influencer content?
Not quite. Influencer content is paid promotion by a creator with a large following, often scripted by the brand. UGC is broader. It includes unpaid customer clips, micro-creator reviews, and content from anyone whose audience size is not the reason you booked them. The reason you use UGC is honesty and texture, not reach. The reason you use a big influencer is reach. Many Indian D2C brands run both, with UGC powering product pages and influencers powering launches.
Do I need rights before using a customer's reel on my site?
Yes. Even if a customer tags you on Instagram, the copyright stays with them. Before you put their clip on your product page or inside a shoppable video widget, get written permission. A short DM exchange where they confirm you can use the video on your website and ads is usually enough, and you should save the screenshot. For paid UGC briefs, the rights terms go inside the brief itself, including duration of use and platforms covered.
Related resources
User-generated content (UGC)
User-generated content is media made by customers and creators rather than the brand: unboxing clips, reviews, try-ons, and tutorials. In commerce it works as social proof, because shoppers trust a real customer showing a product more than a polished brand ad.
Social proof
Social proof is the tendency of shoppers to trust a product more when they can see other people choosing it: reviews, ratings, customer photos and videos, view counts, and bestseller labels. In e-commerce it reduces the perceived risk of buying from a brand you do not know yet.