Commerce: Platforms that help creators sell products. There’s also ample room for new entrants. Platforms like PopShop, Whatnot, Huddle and Lit Live are tackling livestream shopping—already a popular phenomenon in China—while others, like The Landing and The Newness, focus on vertical categories such as interior design and beauty, respectively.

Instagram remains the most influential and vibrant catalog of visual culture on the planet. Unless it somehow blows the opportunity, it should be able to use that to drive discovery and commerce business over the long run.

Instagram’s livestream shopping feature is now over a year old, and beauty brand adoption has become widespread.  On September 19, Instagram concluded its “10+ Days of Live Shopping” campaign featuring a range of consumer brands, including many in the beauty and fashion categories. Beauty participants included one of the first Instagram livestream... See more