Google dives into video shopping with Shoploop

By

Matthieu Guinebault

Published
Jul 25, 2020

Already dominated by Popshop Live and Amazon Live, the video shopping market has recently gained a new contender, and it's a heavy hitter: Google has entered the ring with Shoploop, its own dedicated mobile app. 

The app allows users to discover products via videos which last a maximum of 90 seconds and send shoppers directly to a page where they can make a purchase. At launch, Shoploop is focused on beauty products, including makeup, and skin, hair and nail care. Demonstrations are given by the users themselves, who can be "followed" just like on a social network.  

Needless to say, Google is counting on influencers from its YouTube platform, which also recently began featuring product recommendations on popular videos. Although brands can hunt down the Shoploop influencers with the biggest followings, there is a notable difference between the new shopping platform and Youtube: Shoploop videos are not monetized and users therefore gain nothing from achieving high numbers of views. 

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Ultimately, Shoploop's big draw has less to do with an innovative concept and more to do with the sheer firepower brought by Google. Amazon has already made its play for the video shopping market with Amazon Live, while Facebook and Instagram have gradually integrated shoppable videos into their platforms, making savvy use of their integrated payment systems, which eliminate various steps from the sales process, thereby reducing the chances that the customer will change their mind about the purchase. 

Along with these efforts from internet heavyweights, there are a range of other smaller operations that are nonetheless well known to fans of video shopping, such as Spin and Yeah. Not to mention Popshop and Dote, which received funding injections of $3 million and $12 million, respectively, over the last few months, financing that highlights the potential seen in this latest incarnation of social shopping – a concept which has hit its fair share of roadblocks in 15 years of experiments.