Exclusive: Condé Nast brings product picks to Shop app
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Condé Nast is partnering with Shopify to bring curated shopping collections to the Shop app, the companies exclusively tell Axios.
Why it matters: Publishers are seeking to diversify their revenue beyond advertising and monetize their editorial expertise and trust outside their own websites as AI erodes traffic.
Zoom in: Condé Nast is the first major publisher to join Shop's curation program, which previously featured individual creators, brands and founders.
- Editors from Vogue, GQ, Architectural Digest, Allure, Condé Nast Traveler and Glamour will curate weekly collections for Shop. They will appear on the app and Shop.com.
- Condé Nast's websites also will direct consumers to Shop to complete checkout for select products editors recommend.
- Some collections are already live, with a larger drop expected in early November.
Between the lines: Condé Nast's editors can help shoppers discover unfamiliar brands by lending credibility to products they might not otherwise consider, says Jess Jacobs, vice president of growth for Shop.
- Condé Nast will earn commissions on purchases as well as broader performance-based incentives. The companies declined to disclose additional financial terms.
- Products featured in Shop's collections must be available through Shopify. But Condé Nast's coverage on its own websites will continue to feature products from other retailers.
Zoom out: Condé Nast has been growing its commerce business across its own properties and external platforms. The company also launched Vette, a creator commerce platform, out of beta in September.
- Lisa Aiken, senior vice president of commerce for Condé Nast, said 60% of the company's commerce revenue in the U.S. comes from repeat audiences, underscoring the value of loyal readers
- "We've sort of stopped measuring ourselves on traffic, and we're more interested in measuring ourselves in what a reader is or what an audience is worth to us and the level of engagement," Aiken says.
- The push comes as Adweek reports that Condé Nast is forecasting a more than $35 million shortfall against its fourth-quarter U.S. advertising target.
- Condé Nast disputes the figures and says it expects full-year advertising revenue in the U.S. to be close to target in addition to another year of global revenue and profit growth, a spokesperson told Axios.
The big picture: Shopping platforms are working with established media brands and creators to drive product discovery and purchases.
- LTK partnered with Sports Illustrated Swimsuit earlier this year.
- Amazon has licensed content from publishers including Condé Nast and Hearst to inform recommendations for its AI shopping assistant.
- Pinterest previously partnered with Real Simple on a shoppable magazine issue.
What's next: Condé Nast and Shop are considering expanding the partnership to additional titles.
