"Control Has Shifted to the Consumer" - Leilani Han, Executive Director of Commerce at Wirecutter, on the Future of Content Commerce

Content commerce is a rapidly growing industry that combines content creation with e-commerce. With 49% of brands investing in social commerce content in 2022, we can expect more branded shopping apps, social commerce content, and e-commerce platforms like TikTok Shop in 2023.

The increasing popularity of content commerce is a direct result of marketers looking for alternative ways to reach consumers in the age of declining ad measurability and trackability.

This involves incorporating e-commerce into content creation; a publisher will write an article about a product and include affiliate links to purchase that product within the article. Wirecutter, the product review website owned by The New York Times Company, took full advantage of the e-commerce boom during the pandemic, through successful affiliate programmes.

Authenticity is the secret to success

With no bias, Wirecutter independently reviews everything it recommends, and when users buy products through its links, they may earn a commission. Offering its users with reliable product reviews from veteran journalists, scientists, and experts, Wirecutter's authenticity is essential.

Leilani Han, Executive Director of Commerce at Wirecutter, believes that one of the reasons content commerce is gaining popularity is due to consumers increasingly looking for trustworthy information about products. She says “Honesty is at the heart of what has made (Wirecutter) so incredibly successful. It's that level of integrity, I'm here to support the mission just as much as the journalists are.”