Coming into what has been a tough 2016 so far, Snapchat looks ready to go on the offensive in its quest to monetize its popular messaging service.
According to board member and Cosmopolitan Editor-in-Chief Joanna Coles, Snapchat is taking its Discover section, which is currently all about exposing users to new and interesting content, and expanding it to include shopping as well.
“Sweet is a channel on Snapchat that Hearst and Snapchat have done together, and the tagline is ‘Love something new every day,’” Coles said in an interview with Re/code. “But, at some point, that will morph into an eCommerce platform so you will be able to buy from it.”
How will it make money?
Well, those details are a bit hazier, says Coles.
“Clearly, [through] eCommerce, but I don’t think, necessarily, the tech bit is quite there, quite yet for how we would like to do it.”
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But the tech bit is being built out, if Snapchat’s hiring of Krish Jayaram from Braintree is any indication. Efforts, so far, have been small: photo filters and replays on sale and Snapcash that allows users to move money between each other.
