"We are actually giving you money to acquire a buyer, which is a complete flip of the narrative."
Amanda Engelman is the Director of Product at Shopify leading advertising and channel expansion. She built the Shopify Product Network, a free app that lets other Shopify merchants' products appear on your store. You earn commission on every sale, you keep the customer, and you get category expansion insights without carrying a single unit of inventory. One store earned over $3,000 in commissions in just two months.
We dig into how SPN decides what products to show (and how they're solving the "taste" problem), the checkout engineering that makes multi-merchant transactions seamless, and why this might be the lowest-risk growth lever available to Shopify merchants right now.
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The Unofficial Shopify Podcast is hosted by Kurt Elster and explores the stories behind successful Shopify stores. Get actionable insights, practical strategies, and proven tactics from entrepreneurs who've built thriving ecommerce businesses.
Kurt Elster • 00:00.001
This episode is brought to you in part by Swim. Here's the thing about wishlist apps. Most of them just sit there. A customer saves a product, and then nothing happens. Swim actually activates that data. When someone wish lists a product, you could trigger price drop or back-in-stock alerts and feed that intent directly into Klaviyo or your CRM. You're not guessing what people want because they've told you. Plus, customers can share wish lists for gifts and your team can view them to offer personalized service online or in store. And unlike card abandonment, wishlist data is permission-based. These are people raising their hands saying, hey, I want this. Just not right now. Swim's been around for over a decade. It powers 45,000 stores and installs in about five minutes. You can try it for free today at getswim. com slash Kurt. That's G-E-T-S-W-Y-M. com slash Kurt Back at Shopify Winter Editions, they launched tons of new stuff as they do, but there was several items that stood out to me. And my favorite, as I've said before, are things that leverage Shopify as a network, you know, as a large group of merchants, a flock of D2C stores, if you will. And they've got this thing. That's called the Shopify Product Network, SPN. And this one, it definitely uh powerful, unusual. You may be shocked to hear it lets Other produ other merchants advertise, maybe merchandise, include their products on your store. We're gonna get the details here. We're joined by Amanda Engelman. From Shopify, Director of Product Leading Advertising in Channel Expansion. She's going to break it down for us, tell it how it is. Of course, this is the unofficial Shopfire Podcast, and I'm your host, Kurt Elster. Amanda, thank you for joining me.
Amanda Engelman • 02:08.679
Welcome. Thank you. I'm so glad to be here. Glad to have any minute to uh have a chat and and walk everybody through this uh this new product. So thank you for having me.
Kurt Elster • 02:20.320
For sure. Okay. So advertising and channel expansion. What was the goal? What'd we do here?
Amanda Engelman • 02:31.240
Yeah, I mean I think that if you just like back up for a minute, we we look at the network as just any opportunity that we can provide for merchants to mutually grow, right? And I think typically we talk about the the more of like the actual demand side of it, so the advertiser side of the house. But um the reality is is there's a lot of opportunity that also exists on the other side where you know of course We have, you know, typically merchants um are willing to monetize in the form of being a publisher, but we actually um we took an attempt at this that looks a little bit different than that, which is what would happen actually if we gave um these merchants a utility that also allowed them to dynamically merchandise. So not just slap a display ad into their um into their actual uh online store, but to actually think about how this might feel much more native to where it is that they actually want to go and how they merchandise and how they think about meeting the demand of their buyers.
Kurt Elster • 03:31.560
Ki I'm interested. Keep going.
Amanda Engelman • 03:35.240
Okay, keep going. Um yeah, so I think that You know, in in my area, I largely think about, again, like what are those utilities, the levers that we can help a merchant pull to profitably grow? And I think what we what we observe and what we see is that again, sure, it's you know, we talk a lot about bringing the demand to your site. So like where am I gonna go run my ad on Google or even in you know shop out through shop campaigns. Um, but the also the the additional reality here is that like there is also a lot of uncaptured, unmet demand, right? So Um categories you never thought about expanding to, um products that perhaps have intent, but you just never merchandized And so I think what we what we wanted to do here is like say, hey, like we have we actually have a huge catalog and we have a lot of advertisers who want growth. And we also have a lot of merchants who, you know, own the site, own the presence, who have their opinion on how they want to brand. And if we can actually like capture that thing that exists. in the middle, like there actually I think is a mutual growth opportunity between these merch lines.
Kurt Elster • 04:52.080
All right. Sorry, get the thinking. Yes. So I We have uh a store we run uh or help run Pins and Aces, sells golf accessories and apparel, and you know listeners of the show will know Nick Mertz from uh from previous episodes. And they have used, been using the Shopify product network um to to fill out their catalog like you described. And so it sounds to me like the thinking here is, hey, Shopify as a group. in a as a a platform has a huge number of products. That's right. And say, you know, in the case of this example merchant, they sell golf accessories. Well they can't sell possibly every golf accessory, right? You know, they don't sell golf balls of all things. Yeah. And so you know hey, well, certainly someone else on Shopify might sell golf balls or other complementary products. And the idea is let's that's a merchandising gap that Shopify could solve. Yeah. That Am I getting the like the the strategy here correct?
Amanda Engelman • 05:48.659
Yeah, that's right. Um I like to tell the story of like, you know, we have a lot, we have a lot of merchants who have success with like the one hero product. And um right. And and that's real. Like you sh you should have the one hero product and you should go sell you know, the shit out of that hero product and go put it everywhere. But um but like inevitably as as you probably know, like what happens as you feel the urge, the need um to expand because that's the additional way of course to to grow your revenue. But like Sometimes you don't know how to expand. And maybe sometimes you just shouldn't be, you shouldn't feel that like you are responsible. to deciding what that should be. Not responsible is a weird word, but like there are, as you mentioned, like we have millions and millions of merchants who have great products. Um, which actually may be a great match already for your buyer. And, you know, I think this is the opportunity, the like early stage opportunity to figure out generally what it is that they want before you go in and commit. Um and so I think we see this as in some ways like a fly of wheel. Like Yes, go category expand, go try it out, go see the price point, go see the range, get a good understanding of it, carry it if you want to. And we want to make that easy. Um, and and then go do more, right? So expand in like a, I would say like a responsible early low-lift way
Kurt Elster • 07:24.920
The yes. Yeah, easy. You know, responsible, low, low lift. I heard I hear easy.
Amanda Engelman • 07:31.320
I just do I think so. That would have been the easy thing for me to say too, yeah.
Kurt Elster • 07:37.060
All right, I get the strategy now like tactically in practice do what is what does this thing look like? What is the Shopify product network doing here?
Amanda Engelman • 07:45.060
Yeah, so today we've started largely with how do we extend onto your existing collections and um And to and to actually uh surface products in moments like in with high search intent, right? So um we'd like to say like especially in the moments where you haven't actually um considered carrying that inventory, like it's a really good answer to that. Um and that pulls all the way down into the thank you page and order status page. We had um some opportunities there previously, but We've, you know, since then sort of revised that so that everything remains on site, on your storefront. We don't have buyers who are, you know, clicking on the products and navigating out. In many ways, we've redone our checkout to actually accommodate the fact that one, you are not actually the responsible seller to these products right now. And that too, therefore, we've actually created a checkout that does a multi-transaction checkout and gives you the buyer. You know, you actually like have that now as a buyer in your arsenal to market to. as well as on the advertiser side, same thing. Like that also is a a customer now that they can use.
Kurt Elster • 08:59.600
Yeah, we're also so we're We're talking about this app, Shopify Product Network app. Yep. And I have it installed and running in in this Pins and ASA store. It's very simple. You know, I log into product network and I can see like here's a dashboard of everything. And then My option is placements. And in placements, it's like, hey, choose where you want to show relevant products from other sellers. And these are other Shopify stores, right? Okay. And then so I could pick and it's like collections and search. That's on the store and the theme. So they don't have that checked and they they just haven't tried it yet. Um The they have thank you and order status though checked. And that like that alone has been generating additional orders and commission, which is cool.
Amanda Engelman • 09:48.480
Um, and and like where we're going with this is also like how do we offer as rich as possible insights? Because I think like you know, the way that I imagine this is like the insights can be used for any number of things, whether that's like how do I target like there's there's some like actual richness and thinking about other products people are interested in, especially on the thank you and order steps page or it tends to be more personalized. Um all the way into like how do I use this insight to think about where does I want to go and expand Or what it is I actually should be carrying in this particular category. So if anything, it's like Beyond just the fact that you make commission, that you are earning a a buyer as an example, um, it should also give you some like you know, depth of business thinking, like s it's some actual like insights that can help you drive your next decision.
Kurt Elster • 10:42.940
So I could see the so I set up the placements and then it's going to offer products on its own automatically to folks. And then in the current version, I could see by category, it looks like, what they purchased. And unsurprisingly, in our golf store, the top category is golf. So f just knowing only that now I know, oh, there are items, you know, or accessories in the space that my customers want to buy that I'm just not offering. That's I mean that's a like that's a real example in this case, but that seems to be kind of like the e the research component to this.
Amanda Engelman • 11:15.360
Yeah. I uh well, you know, the I like to give the example. There was a merchant I was um chatting with who had decided that they wanted to expand like into the shoe category, but it took them a year. It actually took them a year to like develop the shoe. Um, and it was really high that's high risk, right? So you're you're you're sort of going off of like, we think there's demand, we think this is right, we're gonna go and develop something. Um and Shopify product network allows them to think about how to flip that on the head, right? So um what we're working on actually right now is like how do you do like completely adjacent category? um expansion. So, you know, I think I want shoes. I think I want luggage. I think I want sunglasses. I think I want watches But I'm not really sure the kinds of products. I'm again I'm not sure of the price point and what beyond what we're doing today, what we're going to be then offering you. is like the ability to basically direct that expansion and to get insights on then like how you want to move forward after this.
Kurt Elster • 12:20.440
The so in is there like um is there reporting that gets added in Choffi Analytics from product network
Amanda Engelman • 12:27.660
Yeah, so today we give you all of the uh product details, like if the product is purchased in the in your order, uh Emin. So There's actually a drop-down you can go to and see all of the products specifically that were sold on site for you
Kurt Elster • 12:46.360
Oh, I see I didn't know this. I'm going after this call, I'm going to do that for this client, find out what they were, and then see like, hey, are there insights here? Are there things that like we definitely should consider finding and selling?
Amanda Engelman • 12:57.080
That's right. That's right. Um, and then uh, you know, we have some like high-level impressions engagement metrics there, but we're, you know, it's something that we're working on right now is like how do we go even deeper there and give you more actionable insights? It's a it's a very important thing.
Kurt Elster • 13:11.540
Yeah, no, that okay. That's very cool. Um I'm curious about how the the placement with collections and search works. This dynamically injects these other products into my my collection grid and my search results.
Amanda Engelman • 13:27.000
Yeah, that's right. So we we dynamically insert and we decide what is right to insert based off of your collection and product context. Everything from like the imagery to the product descriptions to the collection information itself. So we use on the collection side in particular, we use that as context to make sure that we aren't returning something that is So obviously not meant to be on your store, I guess is the way I would put it. Like we wanted to actually feel like as brand aligned. Um as close, you know, as close as we can to to get there to make it feel like something you would have uh actually selected on your own. Um and then we also uh on top of that look at more of like the personalization aspect of it. So yes, it has to be contextual. And then if we can also get it personalized to the buyer, that's ideal. And then on the search side, like this is much more about just like, you know, search relevancy. Of course, we take into consideration the brand context as well, but we want to be, you know, returning something that is, of course, like relevant to the actual. search party itself. Um that one's a bit more straightforward, I think.
Kurt Elster • 14:40.920
The yeah. Alright, and I've seen it in practice where like I have yet to see and I thought for sure it would do this, but I was wrong. I have yet to see it come up, you return something that's like genuinely weird that seems like, well, that shouldn't be there. You know, it's not like, hey, they're selling golf accessories and it offers an oil filter. Like it just, you know, that doesn't happen. Yeah. Um, so there is whatever you're doing seems to be working, is my point. Now, with other clients, I've been like, hey, there's this thing, you know, this new this new feature. I really want to try it. And they're like, wait. My competitor. Like immediately they're like, Yeah, well, whoever their top competitor is, they're like, they're gonna be on my site. And I'm like, actually, because I could see this in our example, there's a setting called exclusions Tell me about those.
Amanda Engelman • 15:20.800
Yeah, so we offer you the ability to exclude brands and categories. knowing very well that like that I think every merchant has this view of the world that there's, you know, a set of a set of competitors for whom would be a hard now surfacing or product. Um and and category as well. Though one of the things that I I think, you know, that that we're working on right now is like I think that people will use category exclusions to get to um specifically where they want us to be inserting and not inserting these types of products. And so we're working on, we've heard a lot of feedback on that. We're working on making that um significantly easier as well. It's like you should just be able to direct us versus like sit and exclude things.
Kurt Elster • 16:09.500
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Amanda Engelman • 17:46.200
Yeah, I think the approach um it takes like actually kind of a similar paradigm to I like not to compare it in this way I may eat it. But like marketplaces in many ways will sometimes work this way as well where um, you know, depending on who is the responsible party, um There are there are situations where you actually do have multiple transactions, but the the responsibility you know aligns to the actual seller itself. Um, and so we're thinking here was like instead of having you go through a checkout where let's say you have you know, one merchant's products and then you have a couple that you've added from um merchants we've inserted. So let's say you have like three stores that are in your cart. Instead of having to go and click, you know, check out with each individual seller in that case, we're just going to make it possible to like single click but see multiple transactions. still get the multiple confirmations from the appropriate sellers so that like again it's clear that not it's not always like the the actual um online store by which you are buying from that is responsible, but you're getting emails to confirm that. And You know, I think the idea here is that we can streamline the multitransaction scenario. Um, in the order status, and thank you page. We also make it clear, let's just say that you've gone back to go check out your you know, updated shipping, whatever that may be, you can actually see and be directed into like the responsible seller order styles page as well from there. But I think like, you know, here is one where I think we're definitely learning and I and I think we want to make it as clear to buyers possible in order to um reduce like any cost to the person who is saying yes to product network. Like we don't want to go and push a load onto people from like a customer service perspective. So I think we have like our first version of this, but I think you know there's more work to do, I'm I'm sure, to continue to make that clear for buyers and is a novel approach.
Kurt Elster • 19:56.179
Yeah. Well, yeah. You know, I haven't tried it myself. I'm yeah, I'm the wrong person to be the one judging it, right? I'm just I'm too familiar with everything here.
Amanda Engelman • 20:05.220
Yeah. Yeah.
Kurt Elster • 20:05.940
Um, but you know, uh honestly it was It's not high on my list of worries. Like I think of all things, you know, checkout seems to be one that Shopify absolutely, you know, sets the standard on.
Amanda Engelman • 20:18.180
For sure. Um I mean it was an impressive feat. I uh I the this team managed to create something and you know effectively like two months Um, and so I I always say like if our checkout team to can go and kind of do open heart surgery on checkout and how it functions in a couple of months, like pretty much anything is possible quickly. Um so yeah, I it was impressive and the and the flow was impressive and um and I won't go into a bunch of the technical details, but making checkout work on a store when the product in cart is not actually the responsibility of that particular online store is actually a um it's hard. It's hard work.
Kurt Elster • 20:57.800
So um the metaphor like always is To illustrate how difficult this, you know, platform changes like this are, of course, is um rebuilding the plane while it's in flight.
Amanda Engelman • 21:06.360
That's right. That's right. So um so very impressive. And um, you know, we've we've learned a lot, but I think our pursuit here and what we really the outcome we really desired was that there is a world where the you know the person who says yes to product network that we call them the importer internally. That like it is possible that you don't carry the product, but the buyer can find it and the buyer can check out with it. And that is your buyer now. That is your customer And you're paid for it. So when you think about it from that context, it's like you're actually not paying an acquisition cost. We are actually giving you money to acquire a buyer, which is a complete, you know, flip of the narrative.
Kurt Elster • 21:49.680
Um yeah.
Amanda Engelman • 21:50.640
Yeah.
Kurt Elster • 21:51.040
No, that that is uh it's a reverse customer acquisition cost is excellent.
Amanda Engelman • 21:54.880
That's right. Yeah.
Kurt Elster • 21:55.600
The but yeah commissions. Oh my gosh, if I'm sell someone else's product gets sold in my store. I get is the store who did that, I get the commission. That's right. We haven't discussed this. Yes. But the um you know the product the store we have it on In d over November, December, over $3,000 in commissions got paid to them. Yeah. That's I saw that, was like, oh my gosh, you know, this works. Wow. So I tell me about the well tell me about that. Tell me about the earning commissions portion of this.
Amanda Engelman • 22:26.820
Yeah. Um so effectively like we pay a portion of the revenue to fee the importer, so to say. And that is actually based on what the um what the CAC is or like what the actual advertiser set the CAC at from their shop campaign. So that's how these two things are connecting, right? Is like you go, you build your campaign, you set your acquisition cost. We go look at, you know, all of these available products. We're looking at, you know. your context, what is likely to convert, what is like most likely to get you actually like the most revenue into your pocket as well. Um and that's, you know, effectively how we um order the the actual products to be inserted. So um so yeah, that that acquisition cost is shared with the importer on the and any product effectively that actually converts on their site.
Kurt Elster • 23:25.580
And okay, that's the other half of this. Like obviously we've only talked about this from the experience of the importer, the store who is running the app product network to display these products in their store. Obviously on the other side of the table are other Shopify stores that are going raising their hands and saying, hey, I want my products out there. This is an advertising surface then. Or you Walk me through that. Tell me about it you you started it, but I want to go deeper.
Amanda Engelman • 23:52.740
So, you know, folks may be familiar with shop campaigns, which Which is what what we like to call very much like risk-free risk-free advertising. We help merchants build campaigns that are based on order acquisition. Um and and they pay based on that. And we started this um mostly on Shop App. We extended those um those particular placements out into some of like our third-party tactics like on Google and Meta where we drive traffic into Shop App. And then When we decided to launch Product Network, um, it felt like a really natural extension of a merchant campaign to be able to extend into you know, this available opportunity basically. Um so to take those merchants, the available catalog, to make sense of it again contextually in order to go and reach new buyers. um and not just reach them, but to actual actually like drive the acquisition of them and again as a customer that you get to keep and remarket to later.
Kurt Elster • 24:56.300
So it's a d the the store the importer store, the one that's surfacing this product, they get to keep the customer, it's their customer. the person who's doing the advertising, that store, the exporter store on the other side of that, what um do they get to keep the customers well?
Amanda Engelman • 25:13.460
Yeah. They both they both get the customer. Um and that was right. Yeah, yeah. And that was actually work done in checkout, right? So when you think about this, it's like these little small nets that you have to go and change when you think about the the checkout experience itself is like how do we actually communicate to buyer that it is like a it is a shared um customer between these two stores. And yes, that's right. So it's taken care of and that's actually somebody now who exists in your customer data.
Kurt Elster • 25:44.880
So this is really this is kind of a a fun marriage between uh advertising and merchandising. But for you, which is it? How do you think of it?
Amanda Engelman • 25:56.120
Okay, so I think about the fact that it's more like first principles of like everyone just wants to grow. And um And there are so many different ways to grow. And I I think the opportunity we're tackling right now is like growth in the name of easy merchandising and sourcing. Um, and so I do look at it that way. But I, you know, I can see a world of how, you know, gradually I'm sure this is gonna evolve over time as we learn more. And there's obviously like other opportunities to go and tackle in the name of growth But I I definitely um I view this and as we are prioritizing and thinking about the product and thinking about the value it provides, we look at it very much as like a sourcing and merchandising option. Okay. And I think that also just like comes with the second order benefit of like, um, you know, we could go build any ad product. And the the outcome of doing that is optimizing, as you know, like for as much revenue as possible. And I think when you're going down that path, you start to make a different set of decisions, less you create some guardrails that make sure that you're delivering like a a truly like native and relevant experience. And the best example I could give of this is like I could slap any personalized product anywhere on a merchant store, but it wouldn't look good. Like and and but if it makes revenue, we would say yes to it. And I think like that is the antithesis of like what we're building, which is that we want to make sure that like This is growth as outlined by how you see it for your store and how you want your buyers to experience it ultimately.
Kurt Elster • 27:42.840
So it's that in that lens and that context is really that's what makes the difference. All right. I I accept this. It is, you know, merchandising as a a means to an end um for you know for growth and for uh in this case, like we're trying to have Everybody win and um rising tide lifts all boats.
Amanda Engelman • 28:00.039
I think so.
Kurt Elster • 28:00.760
I accept it. Yeah. I believe it. Um See okay. I I I want to know a little bit if you could share how does Shopify decide what to show? I've heard uh context a lot here. Um it's not it's not like personalized, you know, it's not like remarketing. It sounds like it's based on what the store's catalog is.
Amanda Engelman • 28:25.919
Um so we look at multiple different um inputs. So One is the, like let's just say the first layer is the input that that you know each merchant has provided in the form of their exclusions, things I don't want. The other input is where. And the where actually very much dictates like how we then look at what is relevant. So like I mentioned, we we look at product and collection context and what that quite literally means is we go and look at things like How does the product look, like the image itself, the background? How and and what does the product say it is, whether that's the title or the description? And what collection is it in? Is it in a woman's collection or a men's collection? Because you may not actually get that from the product information. And all of that just creates a bunch of input that then we use to determine what matches in terms of relevancy. So we go to our our catalog and we say, okay, of all the available catalog we have from campaigns that are running, what actually like fits into that particular box? And then what you know it um has a probability of actually converting for this given buyer Um, so you know, we could in a in a in a given world, like there could be multiple products that we select from that actually fit the shape, the context itself, and we want to then end up in a place where we can select the thing that actually converts and also makes you money. And so, you know, that ends up being like the end decision in this little hierarchy tree is like it needs to look good and it also needs to make you money.
Kurt Elster • 30:14.880
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Amanda Engelman • 31:38.940
Oh my gosh. I I d I actually think the hardest part is the um is the like what context to use to return the product. Like I the most important thing I think is that a merchant feels great about this And I think what is really hard is how you can programmatically define great because there's a lot of taste. Like the merchants starting their businesses and their stores and their branding and their audience, like that actually is just taste. And how to interpret taste in a way then that like makes sure that you can live up to the expectations is it's difficult, right? And I think there are things that we can capture and can't capture and Um, and and we're working on that every day. But I think it, you know, it speaks to just like the art form that we don't probably talk enough about, but I think is the most important thing, which is like how brand and taste actually drive the overarching business itself.
Kurt Elster • 32:45.740
Yeah, it's funny you like how subjective and a emotional and creative things are, especially at the beginning. You know, in this space everyone's like, well, you know, because the marketers are the ones who show up on the podcast And they're like, well, you know, data driven decisions. But the reality is like a lot of that experience is just purely it's somewhat arbitrary, you know, and hopefully everything works out. But then, all right, now when you're trying to address that in this way, it Sud seems like a very difficult problem. And now it makes so much sense, you know, why you you have to look at the images. You know, like the uh, you know, that's the aesthetic part of this. And then you know, you the product could be relevant, but does it fit? The look and feel. Right. Very clever.
Amanda Engelman • 33:25.800
Yes. Hard though, right. And and then it it Yeah. You know, how do we think about that product itself? Like if it's a great product, but the and it's right for the buyer and it could potentially fit, but maybe it's off in terms of the description or background. Should we actually think about how we, you know, adjust that part of it versus just like not selecting the product period? Um So, you know, those are those are like the second order just to be made. We're not there yet, right? But like that's you can imagine how like, especially in this world of AI, how like maybe that is a place to consider going is like How do we actually match that look and feel? And can we? So yeah. Um, and I will say, you know, one of the things that surprised me Um, because every day I stare, I stare at the merchants who are adopting this. I go look at their stores and it's it's so easy to say this, but it's like obvious, but like the niches. Like, Shopify has powered so many niches and um To see like how people have built business on like Pokemon cards, right? Or on a um, this is my my my favorite one was like there's a bulldog. a a at a bulldog apparel store. Like somebody just loved that animal so much that they made like a whole store based off of it. I love it. It's so awesome to see. Um, and I think that goes back into like the taste and branding. It's just like we've given people like the opportunity just to chase their passions and to express that in the form of tastes and branding. And now, you know, we we have to go capture that as well. So go.
Kurt Elster • 35:16.800
Yeah. That's cool. I you know, I almost wish that in the documentation you could include like here's the hard the really just tough very detailed, nuanced questions we wrestled with or are still wrestling with. Because it gives it so much context, like appreciation. I suppose, you know, not everyone would appreciate it, but it like it is it's just it's very fun to hear You know, that that behind the scenes thinking from someone in your position.
Amanda Engelman • 35:42.460
Thank you. Yeah. Yeah. Think about it a lot. We spend a lot of time thinking about this and discussing it, right? There's obviously trade offs, but yeah. Um, you know, like at the end of the day it's all in the spirit of of how we help people grow. And I think that's what's actually fun about thinking about um ads in general when you're building it from the lens of Shopify is you're building it in a way where you're mutually aligned to the business outcomes of the actual merchant itself and not necessarily of, you know, the the revenue outcomes that I think people tend to optimize for when they aren't so tied to the actual operating system itself.
Kurt Elster • 36:23.240
Yeah, a hundred percent. No, you're right. Um okay. The Shopify product network. A fairly new idea, I think, for a lot of people. You know, similar things exist out in, you know, the world on other marketplaces, perhaps, but you know, this in its instance is unique. Is when you have something that's you know new and and unique like that, there's things that people are gonna get wrong about it. Here is here's our chance to hopefully correct that. You know, what what's one or two things that you're like, all right, let's set the record straight here. You know, this is what Shopif Shopify Product Network does.
Amanda Engelman • 36:56.820
Shopify Product Network is just another tool in the arsenal to help you grow. And we do it by eliminating a bunch of the in-between to get a product onto your air quote digital shelf. Um we are doing it as we've just talked about now in a way that is out of the box contextual to your store. And in that way, like we hope it's relevant to both buyer and to the store. Um, and all in the name of uh, you know, getting you, yes, revenue growth, but also customers And so, yes, commission, yes, we're gonna give you some of that monetary benefit, but the other value here is in customer acquisition. And it's also the value of insights. As I mentioned, you may not see a ton of it quite yet, but like we are very invested in you know, really providing deep insights that can drive value out of the gates right away. Um, how we can use our data advantage to help you make good business decisions. That is really the the goal. That's what I got. Did that help, Kurt? Was that good?
Kurt Elster • 38:03.740
Yes. Okay. No, I'll take it. Man. I product network, if I want to just install it and look at it, does it cost me anything? Can I just install it and try this?
Amanda Engelman • 38:12.060
Install it, try it. Um it does not cost you anything. Uh say yes to as much as you can. Try not to, you know, the more exclusions you have, the harder it is, of course, for us to find uh the right product. That's actually one of the things to think about as you go in and place those exclusions, it just is harder for us to actually insert the you know a quality thing. So we just don't. So it's you know the thing to think about is like where where is the right place in my store. you know, to really take advantage of this, but keep in mind that like the the more breath you provide, the easier it is for us to actually get you those insights and monetary value.
Kurt Elster • 38:50.340
Man, I want to see this thing in action on more stores. It's just, it seems like such a great opportunity. And then hearing like, oh actually, you know, this is a research tool as well in practice. Oh. That I like, you know, anything to get more more insight into what our customers want, right? That's the hard part. That's right. And uh so seeing it here, it's like, okay, well here's what they're buying from could be buying from you given the opportunity. Oh. You know, that's how I I hear that report in my head and that's exciting. The okay. So getting started with it, you know, I just have to install product network from the app store. They sure I'll link to that in the show notes. And then if I want to start advertising with it. How do I do that?
Amanda Engelman • 39:27.720
Uh if you want to advertise with it, you can go and set up a shop campaign and that's in the shop channel. Um and we can get you the link for that as well. But Certainly most people are both. Most people source, most people sell. And so I think it is uh, again, in the name of growth, like beneficial to do both
Kurt Elster • 39:48.200
And I do. I think you know both of these are are great opportunities for this year product network. Really this is new. When did this become available in wide release for product?
Amanda Engelman • 40:01.620
in w during winter edition, so in December. Um is only available in the US right now. We are working on internationalization. So that is to come in 2026. But if you're in the US and uh and you're ready to go, it's an easy, easy install and turn on. It's effectively three steps.
Kurt Elster • 40:20.340
Excellent. Uh and all right, final question. If someone if we someone has feedback, are they able to provide it?
Amanda Engelman • 40:26.020
Oh, please, yes. People can even reach out to me if they want. Yes, I would love feedback. Um And definitely want feedback. Uh we've we've gotten early feedback. We're working on a lot of it right now. And um I'm very excited about 2026 and what it's gonna be. But yes, we want feedback.
Kurt Elster • 40:44.359
Absolutely. And then uh how we leave it the feedback. Yeah. Twitter, LinkedIn, email.
Amanda Engelman • 40:49.720
Um you know what? Let me uh we can you can LinkedIn. I can send you my profile. People can send, you know, direct. Feedback to me there, that's fine.
Kurt Elster • 40:58.660
Beautiful. Yeah. Very good. Uh Amanda Engelman, Shopify Product Network.
Amanda Engelman • 41:03.140
Thank you so much. Thanks for having me. I appreciate it.
Kurt Elster • 41:05.700
My pleasure. Hey, before you go, I was hoping you would check out our new app, Promo Party Pro. It is what I want to be the single best, easiest way to run a free gift with purchase promo on Shopify. We just put it live in the app store. We've got less than 50 users. We want your feedback. So if you need to run a free gift with purchase promo in the near future. . Install it, try it. There's a live chat. I check that all the time. And so if you have any issues at all, you know, or any suggestions on how we can make it even easier to use. Let us know. We're happy to help. If you want to try it, search promo party in the app store. Promo Party Pro's the app. Give it a shot. It's got a free trial. Thanks.