Shopify has launched a new platform called Shopify Collabs that makes it easier for creators to find and partner with Shopify merchants looking for marketing support.
The new platform aims to do for creators — which Shopify sees as the “next generation of entrepreneurs” — what Shopify has already done for millions of SMBs: help them easily digitize and monetize their businesses. The Collabs marketplace will streamline the process for both merchants and creators to find mutually beneficial partnerships that align with their brands and audiences.
Shopify Collabs is now available to all merchants in the U.S. and Canada, and debuts with a slate of top TikTok and Instagram influencers in the lifestyle, beauty and fashion categories. Other creators in the U.S. and Canada can apply now for early access to the platform.
Once creators are approved for a Shopify Collabs account they can browse for Shopify merchants that align with their brand. They then use Linkpop — Shopify’s free link-in-bio tool built for commerce — to curate a selection of products from their partner merchants to share on their favorite social platforms. Linkpop also enables payments to the creator when those posts result in a purchase.
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“Shopify is where the world’s best independent brands go to build their businesses,” said Amir Kabbara, Director of Product at Shopify in a statement. “With Shopify Collabs, we’re making it simple for creators to discover and partner with these brands so they can make more money and reach economic independence. In the future, Collabs will be fully integrated with Shopify, giving creators access to more parts of our platform and accelerating their journey as entrepreneurs.”
Shopify merchants can now manage their creator partnerships on the same platform they use to run the rest of their business, which means inventory, order and customer information are kept up to date and merchants have a real-time view of their multi-channel sales.
“How brands find new customers is changing,” said Nathaniel Weiss, President of beauty brand Nécessaire, one of the first merchants to use Shopify Collabs, in a statement. “Working closely with creators across platforms has been a key component of our sales and marketing strategy, and Shopify Collabs has been a vital tool in helping us manage that community. Streamlining how we find and partner with creators in the same platform we already use to manage our business will mean we can spend more time doing what we do best — creating great products.”
