How BuzzFeed is forging direct relationships with retailers

May 27, 2020 by Kayleigh Barber 01 What we learned 02 Event video 03 See the slides Publishers’ growing commerce businesses got a wakeup call as coronavirus hit: Amazon cut commissions for referrals to products classified as “non-essential. ” BuzzFeed initially took a hit during that time, but was able to rebuild that revenue stream by tapping into more direct relationships with 1,000 retail partners, said Nilla Ali, BuzzFeed’s svp of commerce, in the latest edition of the Digiday+ Talks. She even expects that commerce revenue will be up year over year a the end of 2020. “More people are shopping online, conversion is higher and we’re getting better at anticipating consumer demand because it’s happening in real time,” said Ali. “If you have not had a commerce business in the past or you haven’t doubled down on it, now is the time to do so. ” Coronavirus has driven several changes to BuzzFeed’s commerce business, Ali said.

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