Content Driven Commerce

Shoppable content production has needed a drastic transformation that allows brands to seamlessly publish and reach users at all phases on the purchase journey.

BuzzFeed, the world’s largest independent publisher, has made a significant entrance into the world of content-driven commerce with the acquisition of the commerce enablement platform Bonsai, a commerce enablement platform that allows for publishers to sell products natively through the use of widgets and embedded in editorial style content. Essentially what BuzzFeed is trying to do is to create a one-stop shop for both brands and users where their content is all shoppable, and Buzzfeed controls the whole consumer journey from inspiration to purchase. Similar to efforts Facebook has made, BuzzFeed’s whole goal is to have an entire purchase occur on their platform using Bonsai’s technology. As this Buzzfeed opportunity is developed, it will first allow for native shoppabilty in articles through the use of widgets, but ultimately they plan to roll out a completely commerce focused marketplace solution.

This rapid buildout of their commerce capabilities are, of course, a response to the COVID pandemic. According to BuzzFeed’s SVP of Commerce, Nilla Ali, “What we’ve seen through the ongoing pandemic is the benefit of diversifying our commerce capabilities in the same way we’ve diversified our business model, and the power of leaning into our digital advantages as consumers increasingly shift to online shopping,” Through their robust content offerings and now new and improved commerce integrations, BuzzFeed could be an appealing publisher to partner with for a content driven campaign.

Moving forward, what does all of this actually mean for brands? Similar to influencer networks, or more traditional native content offerings, it gives a layer of authenticity to the content that isn’t always present in typical branded banner ads or owned paid social. However, with the Bonsai integration, Buzzfeed has shown its clear intention to disrupt what is the typical ecommerce model of driving to Amazon, Walmart, Target or another retailer. By controlling the entire journey through to a purchase, Buzzfeed is going to enable new avenues for ecommerce.

For more information on content driven commerce and other publisher integrations, reach out to Velocity Commerce Group to see how we can help.