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Sovrn, the publisher technology platform reaching 400 million daily active consumers, has announced the release of its Shopping Galleries tool as part of a wider strategy to help publishers leverage eCommerce more effectively.
With //Commerce Shopping Galleries, editors can build a personalized carousel of products by theme or product type or showcase a range of products from one or more merchants. Crucially, editors remain in full control of the products featured, providing a better shopping experience to readers by matching the products to the type of content published.
According to Sovrn, editors can ‘enhance their site in minutes’ with the ability to quickly select from products and merchants in one place, pick the ones with the lowest prices, and add them to their site. A customizable “Sponsored” header also gives editors the freedom to highlight a featured merchant or editor’s pick while offering an opportunity to earn more from merchants desiring premium placement. Editorial recommendations like “Best Buys,” “Deals of the Day,” and “We Recommend” can also be created quickly.
“Ecommerce represents a huge opportunity for publishers to drive additional revenue and get closer to their readers,” says Nicola Ghezzi, Sovrn managing director of //Commerce solutions. “Shopping Galleries delivers the editorial control for our customers to quickly, easily, and flexibly create quality eCommerce content and deliver a rich customer experience.”
Having ecommerce content on our site has been a growing revenue source for us. Being able to curate unique, engaging content quickly for our readers will drive more engagement and boost our affiliate revenue. We’re excited to add Shopping Galleries to our commerce content strategy.
Philip Brown, Head of Affiliates, Reach plc
To demonstrate how Sovrn //Commerce Shopping Galleries provides a flexible solution for editors and content creators to create rich, customizable content, the company is hosting a webinar on Wednesday, April 13, “Secrets to Quickly Creating Commerce Content That Drives More Revenue,” at noon Eastern Time.
Publishers double down on eCommerce
The launch comes on the back of research earlier this year by the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism which found that the COVID crisis has “accelerated” publisher efforts to generate money through subscriptions and eCommerce, with 30% of commercial publishers surveyed indicating that this would be an “important” or “very important” revenue stream for them this year.
Indeed, many established publishers have made no secret of their desire to expand eCommerce revenue streams, with traditional publishers like Forbes moving into online shopping offering branded products and apparel, whilst Future Publishing drove nearly $1 billion in eCommerce sales in 2020 – expanding its business by adding price comparison tech via the acquisitions of the GoCo Group as well as Marie Claire US. Over at The Independent in the UK, the newspaper brand’s Indy Best section – which offers product reviews and buying guides – has “doubled the size of its team… to 16 people, including ten full-time editorial roles, during the pandemic” according to Press Gazette.
As a result of longitudinal shifts in consumer habits and the continued growth of spending in this space by marketers and brands, fresh forays into eCommerce and affiliate revenue strategies continue to be seen from a wide variety of different publishers.
Professor Damian Radcliffe, Carolyn S. Chambers Professor in Journalism, University of Oregon writing in What’s New in Publishing’s eCommerce in Publishing report
Disclosure: What’s New in Publishing is wholly owned by Sovrn Holdings, Inc.
