Reality check: social commerce is more appealing to companies than users. SimplicityDX reports that 48% of consumers consider social media a great place to learn about products, but 71% prefer to make their purchases directly on a brand site. One big reason is 53% don’t trust social networks with their personal data. Buying on social also raises concerns about accurate in-stock information, customer service, and returns.
Social media companies are droolingly eager to become ecommerce platforms. Meta-owned Instagram just removed one more bit of friction by making it possible to purchase through its chat function. Payments go through the company’s Meta Pay service, which captures so much delicious data and will eventually let Meta charge a commission.
Flip bills itself as “the next-generation e-commerce platform combining a TikTok-like discovery experience with a premium e-commerce service”. I’m not sure what that means but its website features a lot of people waving around products while talking to a camera. It’s pretty intense but enough people like it that the company just raised a $60 million Series B, raising total funding to $92 million.
It’s deal-making time for generative AI model builders and publishers who can provide them with quality data. Germany publishing giant Axel Springer is trading access to its data for Microsoft adtech, AI, and Azure hosting solutions. Meanwhile, The Financial Times has struck a deal with OpenAI to license its content with attribution of summaries and quotes.