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-In the future, we will binge-watch stores, not shows
-We'll shop from new, video-first sellers
-Shopping and entertainment will blur
I call this shopatainment. It’s not a trend, it’s a game-changing movement.
Here's what you need to know (Thread
) https://a16z.com/2020/12/14/shopatainment/
-We'll shop from new, video-first sellers
-Shopping and entertainment will blur
I call this shopatainment. It’s not a trend, it’s a game-changing movement.
Here's what you need to know (Thread
) https://a16z.com/2020/12/14/shopatainment/
In China, live shopping is already a $137B industry (this is bigger than all US digital ad spend in 2020). There, shopatainment has evolved from low-budget production to professional grade programming: high-end lighting, sound effects, make-up artists, rented wardrobes and more
Shopatainment is when sellers leverage video over photos, and when buyers browse seller videos looking for entertainment. Shopatainment is part art, part game show, part theater, part supply chain management, part auction house, and most of all, it’s retail’s killer app.
COVID is accelerating shopatainment in the US. Retailers are looking for new ways to sell b/c their physical stores are closed, buyers are more open-minded on new ways to shop, and influencers seek more ways to monetize. We’re at the cusp of a video shopping revolution
In this new era of shopping, sellers will rely on video more than photos. Some shows will be live, some pre-recorded, some will be short, some will be hours-long in length -- but they will all be entertaining, and there will be a new ecosystem of companies built to support them
In the coming years, we will see four types of shopatainment stores: Existing incumbents with traffic will add on video shopping features, existing non-commerce platforms will add video shopping, and there will be startups that either go horizontal or vertical specific.
Just as YouTube redefined TV production, shopatainment will spawn a new wave of video-first sellers, fine-tuned to online audiences and born for this moment. Shopatainment will change not just how we buy and sell, but also how we unwind and have fun. https://a16z.com/2020/12/14/shopatainment/
