BuzzFeed has become the latest media company to expand its commercial strategy, launching a new product-review website alongside its viral pop culture content.
The new portal – called ‘BuzzFeed Reviews‘ – is already partially live, however, BuzzFeed is yet to make a formal announcement. Reviews encompass everything from smart speakers to power tools.
According to The Wall Street Journal, BuzzFeed Reviews will incorporate an “affiliate” model, with the company collecting a portion of revenue from consumer purchases.
Reviews are tipped to trial several products within the same category, providing consumer feedback across many price points.
A link to retailer websites will provide BuzzFeed a source of affiliate revenue.
In the United States, BuzzFeed Reviews will go against New York Times owned ‘Wirecutter’, which also incorporates an affiliate e-commerce strategy.
Locally, it’s unclear what effect BuzzFeed Reviews will eventually have, however, its launch comes amidst increasing fusion between pop culture content and writer reviews – e.g. across fashion and art.
As per a LinkedIn post, BuzzFeed is currently recruiting for a Managing Editor for its reviews website, with the role uniting teams across tech, sales, affiliate and editorial.
