Spotify has launched a personalized Merch Hub in the Spotify app.
The new feature provides personalized recommendations based on users’ listening habits, according to a blog post on Monday (October 16).
Previously, users could only access artist merch through individual profiles, the ‘Now Playing’ view, and release pages. Now, with Merch Hub, all artist merchandise is consolidated in one place.
To access the new feature, users can search for “Merch” or head to the Merch tile on the search page. The hub will allow users to browse and learn more about various merch items. When ready to make a purchase, the process is facilitated through the artist’s Spotify store, powered by Shopify.
The new feature arrives two years after Spotify partnered with e-commerce platform Shopify to let artists sell merch through their artist profiles on the streaming platform, but the pair have now expanded their alliance, launching a dedicated and personalized Merch Hub in the Spotify app.
Spotify says the new initiative follows last year’s “highest-grossing merch sales week” for artists in Spotify after seeing users’ Wrapped results. This year’s Spotify Wrapped is slated to be unveiled in the final week of November.
“The new merch hub on Spotify is the first-ever merch shopping experience that is tailored to an individual’s listening habits and fandom.”
Heather Ellis, Spotify
“The new merch hub on Spotify is the first-ever merch shopping experience that is tailored to an individual’s listening habits and fandom. Spotify pulls personalized recommendations for you, specifically, into your merch hub experience, so offerings from your favorite artists find you – not the other way around,” said Heather Ellis, Product Marketing Manager, Fan Monetization at Spotify.
The Shopify partnership arrived five years after Spotify entered into a collaboration with US merchandise company Merchbar.
Merchbar remains an option for artists to list merchandise on their Spotify profile.
Spotify also recently introduced a revamped tab design on artist profiles, categorizing music, concerts, and merch into three distinct tabs. This update has led to a 22% increase in user purchases when visiting the merch tab on an artist’s profile, according to the company.
Launching a personalized merch tab on the platform marks Spotify’s latest effort to roll out features that are tailor-made for each individual.
Earlier this year, Spotify launched a personalized “DJ” powered by generative and voice artificial intelligence to serve as “a personalized AI guide that knows you and your music taste so well that it can choose what to play for you.”
The company also recently unveiled an ever-changing playlist called ‘Daylist’ that adapts to users’ evolving moods throughout the day.
All these comes as Spotify seeks to retain its user base and maintain its lead in the global streaming market. By the end of June, Spotify’s Premium user base reached 220 million after the company added 10 million subscribers from the end of March.
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