Will social selling and shoppable content challenge the future of bricks-and-mortar retail and alter e-commerce forever?
I am a big believer that the future of retail is social selling and shoppable content.
As an Amazon influencer in the US and Australia, I have already experienced the amazing earning potential for content marketers like me, making shoppable content and selling direct to audiences/consumers.
More recently, one of my monetized YouTube channels even passed the review process for shoppable content, allowing me to sell merch directly from my pre-recorded and live content.
Of course this is becoming the norm. Social media platforms are becoming e-commerce platforms and opportunities for creators and creatives to leverage the social shopping and shoppable content revolution.
And it is a social selling and shoppable content revolution.
You may be aware that TikTok already has a huge shoppable content and influencer marketing ecosystem where buyers, sellers, content creators, and the platform benefit.
Collaborations take place for eyeballs, interest, and attention, but ultimately for sales.
Amazon, as mentioned, has their own mobile shoppable content environments with the Amazon Live and Inspire apps and recently rolled out their influencer program to multiple countries.
Instagram is allowing creators to add shops to their accounts to share links on their reels.
Of course, Meta (Facebook) has allowed people to link shops for some time, as has Pinterest.
And with YouTube launching their Creator App, one would expect they will follow TikTok and Amazon and soon offer live selling in vertical format on the YouTube platform too.
One step for YouTube to achieve this occurred in 2024, when they started to allow creators to live stream in vertical format.
And then there is Whatnot, a livestreaming auction platform allowing people to sell and ship items with a simple workflow.
This platform is a playground, particularly for collectors and collectibles, and real interest-based communities and connections to creators are evolving.
Whatnot is an auction site like eBay, albeit with enhanced livestream selling features that make eBay look like a dinosaur.
And on that note, don’t think eBay is sitting quietly watching this social shopping explosion; they too have been testing eBay live streams.
From my own experience creating on Amazon, I have seen what shoppable content can do for sales.
My own Amazon Influencer content has an average monthly conversion rate of 15-18%, meaning almost 1 in 5 people who click on my videos make a purchase.
But it is not the conversion rate that intrigues me; it is the fact that people expect to watch a video or videos when they now arrive on a product page.
This approach means my content works for me, the shop owner, and the platform like a digital employee 24/7.
For businesses of both e-commerce and bricks-and-mortar retail, this provides a massive opportunity.
To build a media component to their businesses and to sell online in the form of social selling and shoppable content.
Whether retailers like it or not, this will become the future way people shop, or at least a big part of it.
So while the world is focused on the AI explosion, many are sleeping on the opportunity social selling presents in the coming decade.
For those like me who create audio and video content, we see every piece of content as an opportunity to build not only legacy but also position ourselves as key people of influence or influencers (2 different things, by the way).
I see content as a clone of its creator, working for them while they sleep.
This concept of content being a clone and a digital employee is something I have been talking with business owners about for 3 years now, but many just can’t seem to grasp it.
In relation to social shopping, the easiest way to put it is that shoppable content becomes a part of your sales team.
But perhaps it is not that some don’t grasp it, but that many don’t know how to implement it in their own business.
If your content is not working for you, like a digital employee, 24/7, year in, year out, while you sleep, why are you creating it in the first place?
As a retailer or business, if you find that it isn’t, you may be doing it wrong.
As a content marketer and creator, I see every piece of content as both intentional and a promise to deliver on an expectation for the audience/consumer.
Based on this approach, from a business standpoint, I view shoppable videos as the future of not just e-commerce, but of commerce in general.
Traditional retailers that have an online presence need to be thinking about this, as do small business owners of service-based enterprises.
And let’s not forget software companies, which offer affiliate programs; they have understood the power of shoppable content for a much longer time.
The platforms that provide these opportunities are those same ones I keep trying to get local businesses on: podcasting (AOD), YouTube (VOD), blogging, social audio, and live streaming.
These are the platforms challenging legacy media for consumer attention, and I refer to them as modern media.
I have said it before. There is a battle going on for people’s attention, and it is the influencers and people on platforms like Amazon, YouTube, and TikTok that are grabbing attention right now.
The question for traditional retailers and e-commerce is, how can you or will you compete?
Developing beneficial intentional content marketing strategies provides ample opportunity for local businesses to develop their own shoppable content approach too.
That’s where my expertise in guiding businesses through this process shines through.
One of the reasons I launched Applaudable Media was to help my own business sell on social media and for brands.
I understand the next generation of consumers doesn’t just want text. They want video, audio, and community.
As part of what I do, I offer consultancy for retailers and brands looking to leverage user-generated content, employee-generated content, and shoppable content to sell more.
I help businesses identify and implement inbound content marketing approaches that best suit their business and offer them the best opportunities in a modern media landscape.
The upcoming generations (Gen Z and Alpha) are already familiar with tapping on a screen and making in-feed or stream purchases.
I am of the opinion that businesses not deploying social selling live streams and shoppable content strategies in the next decade will be missing out on massive opportunities to grow reach, build brand, and increase revenue.
Sadly, my advice is often ignored in my local business and industry. I expect for some I will be saying, “I told you so,” at some point in the future, and for them it will be too late.
You are at your own risk if you are not using video, audio, and text to reach new markets and the next generation of consumers.
Alarmist, I know, but those sleeping on shoppable content and the opportunity to sell live on social media will find it even harder to break through the noise if they don’t get on board early.
If you don’t know or understand what is happening between platforms, brands, content creators, and consumers right now, you need to get curious.
It is the closest thing I have seen to an everybody-wins strategy as a business model for a long time.
If you have no clue what I am talking about, then you need to follow me on LinkedIn and book a consultation to learn more.
Other Affiliate Links
My Amazon Influencer Storefront
My Studio Equipment
Live Streaming Software
Applaudable Media Content Shop
#Socialshopping #Shoppablecontent #Contentmarketing
