New Shopify partnership turns influencers into retailers

E-commerce platform Shopify wants to help social media content creators expand into the world of online sales.



Shopify is partnering with FameBit, a Santa Monica, California-based platform that allows social media influencers and brands to collaborate for product and service endorsements. The new partnership will allow more than 31,000 of FameBit’s influencers to leverage Shopify’s VIP program and technology to expand into e-commerce.



Shopify VIP provides infrastructure and customer management support for e-commerce. Thus FameBit creators will be able to launch their own multichannel store, receive guidance from a dedicated personal concierge, and have access to applications, like embeddable buy buttons, which allow them to sell and cross-promote their own brands across various digital channels.



The definition of who is a “retailer” continues to expand as the Internet allows almost anyone with some sort of product or content to sell to quickly and easily create some type of online storefront. Services like Shopify VIP have evolved to allow non-professional e-retailers to operate with a high degree of professionalism. Social influencers who help drive sales for other brands already have a built-in consumer following that makes them a logical candidate to become online retailers.



“Influencers are not only content creators -- many are also entrepreneurs with their own merchandise, and many influencers dream of launching their own stores or forming partnerships with existing brands to co-create and sell their own product lines,” said Agnes Kozera, co-founder at FameBit. “Our partnership with Shopify will provide our influencers with the resources and expertise needed to make that dream a reality, adding even more value to our network.”