We Went to SoCom 2026 (and Saw the Future of Social Shopping)

Discover the future of social commerce directly from the experts at LTK, YouTube Shopping, and Gap Inc. Live from SoCom in sunny Venice, Lauren and Josh break down the shift from relevance to revenue in the creator economy. In this episode, we explore why follower counts are losing their weight, how affiliate marketing is evolving, and the ways legacy brands integrate social platforms into retail experiences.

What you'll learn:

-- Why social followers and subscribers don't matter anymore.

-- How LTK's new brand platform is democratizing creator marketing.

-- The massive impact of YouTube Shopping timestamps and auto-tagging.

-- Gap Inc.'s omnichannel approach to capturing consumer demand.

00:00 Intro: Live from SoCom

05:13 Interview: Amber Venz Box (LTK)

09:08 Why Followers Don't Matter Anymore

16:41 Democratizing the Creator Ecosystem

20:26 AI Chatbots and Trust in Creators

25:46 Interview: Lauren Celinski (YouTube Shopping)

28:25 Maximizing YouTube Shopping Features

36:05 Interview: Damon Berger (Gap Inc.)

38:59 Gap’s Social Commerce Strategy

44:50 Final Thoughts and Outro

Creator Upload is your creator economy podcast, hosted by Lauren Schnipper and Joshua Cohen.

Follow Lauren: https://www.linkedin.com/in/schnipper/

Follow Josh: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joshuajcohen/

Original music by London Bridge: https://www.instagram.com/londonbridgemusic/

Edited and produced by Adam Conner: https://www.linkedin.com/in/adamonbrand