Facebook and Instagram Shops are here, finally. Plus an interview with Chinese social commerce giant Pinduoduo

Pinduoduo’s interactive e-commerce / social commerce model is designed to more closely mimic how people interact, exchange feedback, and share recommendations when they shop in real life.

As we graduate beyond the intent-driven model of e-commerce—marked by table-like grids of products, filters, and search bars, there are opportunities to create new experiences that promote the sense of serendipity and fun of shopping in the real world. Indeed, as Ada points out below, Pinduoduo considers itself part e-commerce platform, part entert... See more

In the US, dominant platforms typically have just two out of the three: Amazon is a wealth of commerce and content related to products, Tik Tok has community and content—but it’s rare to successfully integrate all three elements (they require very distinct DNA to do well!). Successful case studies include Glossier and Food52, while new startups lik... See more

Facebook Shops and Instagram Shops represent a model of e-commerce that more closely aligns with consumers' natural shopping behavior, combining serendipitous discovery and social inspiration.

As I’ve previously discussed, the importance of individual brands diminish on aggregator e-commerce platforms. It’s challenging to build a strong brand on Amazon because Amazon itself is the brand that consumers trust, and brands become secondary to signals like reviews and sort order. The antidote for brands is to leverage platforms that allow for... See more

The Passion Economy is broader than what one might think, and encompasses all types of work where the worker/service/product isn’t just viewed as interchangeable and commoditized. I was surprised to learn that nearly 15% of Pinduoduo’s GMV comes from agricultural products (which I had never thought of as being part of the Passion Economy!). Farmers... See more

Facebook has a long history of attempts to move into payments and commerce, and this latest iteration is happening amid an accelerated transition from offline sales to e-commerce and a softening ad market.

These features create new monetization paths for businesses and creators through selling products, providing another way to participate in the Passion Economy. Because brand sponsorships were mainly accessible to creators with large followings, the addition of e-commerce functionality should lower the barrier to earning income from the platform.