Retailers respond to Swaypay because by offering discounts in exchange for social sharing, they can increase conversion at checkout, acquire new shoppers while generating margin on the first sale, and drive stickiness by working with shoppers. The shopper wins, the retailer wins, Google and Facebook lose (a little).

Chinese social-commerce apps like Douyin (Tiktok in China) or Xiaohongshu are closer to what Curator-led retail experiences could be. Verified influencers are able to list or tag products sourced from wholesale sites like Taobao or JD.com, and followers can check out directly on the streamer's page. Douyin, which has about 300M daily active users, ... See more