Main Highlights:
- According to a press release, Shopify unveiled a new shoppable content tool this week called Shopify Collabs, which intends to link artists with the platform’s millions of merchants.
- Creators can quickly find and collaborate with merchants to develop curated stores and share goods that represent their own passions using Shopify Collabs, expediting their road to entrepreneurship.
- Shopify Collabs solidifies it as the creator’s commerce platform of choice, building on integrations with social and entertainment platforms, the introduction of Linkpop, and the launch of Starter Plan.
Shopify announced today the launch of a new “Shopify Collabs” product that will connect social media content producers with merchants on its platform, providing them with a new method to generate money while exposing e-commerce enterprises to new consumers. According to Shopify, artists will be able to effortlessly identify and collaborate with independent enterprises.
The introduction of Shopify Collabs comes only a few weeks after the business lay off around 10% of its staff, or over 1,000 individuals.
The creative economy has exploded, with an estimated value of more than $100 billion, yet some creators are struggling to build economic independence while being authentic.
Shopify Collabs provides a platform for them to locate businesses with which they would like to collaborate to assist them get their footing. Similarly, marketers may collaborate with producers who they believe match their brand, providing an extra way to boost purchases while many suffer under economic uncertainty.
According to the Ottawa-based software company, the new Shopify Collabs initiative allows artists to “find and work with merchants to establish curated stores and share items that represent their own interests.”
Artists and others who make video for platforms such as TikTok and YouTube may use Collabs to sign up for a free account that allows them to search Shopify merchants that would be a good fit for their audience.
Creators may then collaborate with merchants to curate a selection of items to publish on their preferred social media channels. Creators get compensated when customers buy things through links provided by the creators.
Collabs are being marketed by Shopify as a means for creators to capitalise on their online notoriety.
“Collabs is a new approach for Shopify businesses to reach potential consumers at a time when it’s never been more difficult or expensive.” “By enabling retailers to identify and collaborate with artists who connect with their brand, they can harness the power of community-driven commerce to engage customers in new and meaningful ways.”
After creating a Shopify Collab account, creators and marketers may locate one other by scrolling through the platform. After identifying a collaboration, artists may utilise Shopify’s Linkpop, a free link-in-bio tool, to create a selection of items to promote in their work. The new tool also provides artists with options such as unique URLs and discount vouchers to share.
Because Collabs is part of the Shopify platform, retailers can manage inventory, orders, and customer information in real time across channels. The programme also handles the back-end payout, ensuring that both the creator and the merchant get paid.
Collabs’ launch coincides with Shopify’s efforts to win over merchants as rising expenses and decreasing consumer spending drive business away from the platform, which has seen its stock plummet amid plans for global layoffs. According to Reuters, the first half of the year saw only 71,000 net merchants recruited, compared to 680,000 during the peak of the epidemic and 314,000 last year. Following recent agreements with Twitter, YouTube, Spotify, and TikTok, Shopify is aiming to become a dominating force in the shoppable content and creator market.
$100 billion market
According to the business, while the whole creative economy is currently valued at more than US$100 billion per year, “most creators struggle to generate money and become independent.” According to Shopify data, just 4% of creators work full-time on content creation.
“In the future, Collabs will be completely integrated with Shopify, providing artists with access to additional sections of our platform and speeding up their entrepreneurial path.”
The launch is Shopify’s latest attempt to improve its links with social media networks in order to increase income. To make it simpler for its merchants to generate revenue through social media, the company has already formed relationships with Twitter, TikTok, Facebook, and Pinterest.
The decision comes as Shopify’s stock has fallen as a result of a widespread market selloff that has shook the internet industry over the last eight months. Shopify shares were selling at $51.03 on the Toronto Stock Exchange in mid-afternoon trading Tuesday, down more than 75% from their top of $222.87 (adjusted for a recent 10-to-one stock split) last November.
The company reported a net loss of US$1.2 billion for the second quarter ended June 30, compared to a profit of nearly $880 million the previous year. The financial update comes a day after Shopify revealed it was laying off 10% of its workforce, or around 1,000 people, a decision the firm claimed was compelled to undertake due to a miscalculation of the e-commerce market’s predicted growth.