🎥 AI Hosts, Social Commerce Surge & TikTok's Next Chapter
From Cannes to China, AI influencers and livestreaming are reshaping the game. Plus: a powerful Midjourney update, a TikTok deadline twist, and more...
Hi Substack Friends!
Another week in ecommerce! CommerceNext in NYC is this week. So exciting! Will you be there? Be sure to say Hi at our booth!
But before we start, TikTok ain't going away... At least not yet, President Trump signed another executive order delaying the enforcement of legislation passed last year that required TikTok to find new owners for most of its U.S. operations or shut down. The new deadline is Sept. 17... Let's jump in!
📰 Snippets
AI Livestream
China just saw AI influencers outshine their human counterparts—literally. Two digital avatars hosted a 7-hour livestream, showcased 133 products to 13 million viewers and drove over $7.65M in sales, outperforming their previous human-led show. Facinating story on the use of AI avatar in Asia for Liveshopping. In 2-4 years from now, content production might no longer be the friction point.
US Commerce
Marketplaces and Social channels now drive 50-60% of US e-commerce.
A BCG report notes that marketplaces now represent ~67% of global e‑commerce sales—that's a steep climb from 40% just a decade ago. While this figure is global, marketplaces in the U.S. (especially Amazon) still grab a dominant share—An Analyzify analysis states Amazon holds ~37.6% of U.S. e‑commerce marketplace share. Meanwhile, social commerce is rapidly growing with some study indicates that nearly 80% of Gen Z now shops via social marketplaces
Product AI Video
Midjourney has launched its first Image-to-Video model, letting you animate still images with ease. Whether you want subtle motion or dynamic camera shifts, you can guide the animation or let the AI decide. Midjourney is a top AI video startup. This release enable anyone to create short product video from your PDP picture. The model is fun, accessible, and over 25x cheaper than existing video tools
Report from Cannes Lion
Top podcasters called on Spotify to revive its live audio feature, aiming to host real-time podcast shows like modern-day late-night TV, as reported by The Information. They see Audio livestreaming as a way to create appointment viewing habits and deepen fan engagement through routine and interaction. Long-form content was praised as a key to building loyal audiences—far more effective than fleeting social clips. As podcasters gain control over their own narratives, live formats could be the next frontier in video-driven fan connection. Interesting no?
🚨 What's in the pipeline at eStreamly?🚨
We launched a new AI Chatbot based on the documentation. A great way to help ypi navigate the platform 👉 Want to check it out?
Ready to transform your e-commerce strategy with video commerce? Connect with eStreamly to learn how we can help you.
Meme of the Week - Special 😘 to customer service
Spread the news and help us grow 🌱 by sharing and following on social
Today's email was brought to you by Nicolas from eStreamly