# Shoppable videos By [Brandon Donnelly](https://brandondonnelly.com) ยท 2019-08-07 a16z, chinese-startups, ecommerce, shoppable-videos, shopping, startup, startups, tech, travel, user-generated-videos, video --- Sometimes I think that writing a blog has become a bit old fashioned. I should probably be making videos. But the reality is that I like writing. Getting up in the morning, reading, having a coffee, and writing my thoughts down is a ritual that I really enjoy. Making videos is also a bigger time commitment, and I would rather focus my energy elsewhere. But there's no question that user-generated videos have and will continue to change ecommerce and many other aspects of society. This recent blog post by Connie Chan and Avery Segal called, "[_Ecommerce as video's killer app_](https://a16z.com/2019/08/06/ecommerce-as-videos-killer-app/)," is a perfect example of that. In it, they talk about a handful of Chinese companies that are pioneering "shoppable videos." What these platforms are doing is allowing consumers to buy things natively within their app and through a "video-centric checkout flow." In other words: watch a story being told (from an individual, as opposed to a company); become interested in a particular product or service; and then immediately purchase it with only a few taps. Another use case, which I think many of you will find interesting, is the creation of "crowdsourced video city guides." Instead of checking for hotel reviews on TripAdvisor, simply find someone who has already vlogged a stay and book it that way. The individual who uploaded the video will then earn a commission. This behavior already exists. Discovery and buying decisions -- for many products and services -- have moved to social platforms. Just today a friend reached out asking me about a bar that she saw on my Instagram stories a few weeks. She's planning to go next week. Now where's my commission? Shoppable videos are a natural extension. They may also lower the barriers to participation. And so maybe I will end up making videos, after all. --- *Originally published on [Brandon Donnelly](https://brandondonnelly.com/shoppable-videos)*