Verizon Media expands innovative commerce experiences for the holidays

What You Need to Know:

• Cementing its leadership in commerce innovation, Verizon Media’s ecosystem of trusted consumer brands have curated the top deals, shoppable video, 3D gift guides and best advice for an affordable list-making experience this holiday season
• Verizon’s 5G Holiday Market, powered by RYOT Studio, will use augmented reality (AR) to allow users to immerse themselves into a Verizon holiday themed marketplace where they can interact with and purchase new 5G products

NEW YORK, NY - Today, Verizon Media announced its plans to help consumers prepare for the holidays with more ways to save time, money, and get a jumpstart on their shopping. Throughout November and December, the Verizon Media ecosystem including: Yahoo, HuffPost, TechCrunch, In The Know, Engadget, Yahoo Mail and RYOT Studio, are rolling out new shoppable content, series, articles, videos, tools and gift guides that consumers can interact with and transact, allowing for an enjoyable and efficient holiday shopping experience.

As Verizon Media continues to see significant growth across its unified commerce content platforms, the company is expanding its slate of shoppable content offerings and premium partnerships. This comes on the heels of Verizon Media’s major “30 Days of Savings” campaign launch last week in partnership with Walmart. Additional partners and commerce initiatives will be announced at a later date.

"As we continue to expand our commerce offerings and deepen relationships with our partners, we’re excited to provide a seamless way for our consumers to connect to their passions and innovate through the power of our ecosystem this holiday season,” said Joanna Lambert, Head of Consumer, Verizon Media.

Verizon Media’s holiday highlights include the following:

Savings & Shoppable Gift Guides

Verizon Media has curated the best advice, top deals from across the web and exclusive offers from leading brands to create a fun and affordable list-making experience this year.

• The Yahoo weekly “It List” will look at the best in pop culture, including movies, music, TV, books, podcasts and more — with shoppable gift-giving options, allowing viewers to shop while they watch.
• HuffPost Finds, the HuffPost team of shopping experts, will be focused on all things holidays-at-home this season, bringing readers deals, gift guides and home hacks to make this unusual holiday season more manageable and joyful. HuffPost Life will feature Black Friday Exposed, offering a guide to being a smart shopper, as well as gift guides including a HuffPost Life focus on in-demand products from Black-owned businesses.
• In The Know will be launching two new shoppable video series: “In The Know: Shop Small” which highlights Gen Z-owned small businesses and “In The Know: Spending Power” which highlights female, minority-owned small businesses, in addition to gift guides across style, beauty, and technology to serve the brand’s cross-platform shopping-focused audience.
• Engadget is rolling out various gift guides for the tech enthusiast, covering the best in laptops, wearables, digital subscriptions, game consoles, tech toys for kids, smart home devices, and top gifts under $50.
• A “30 Days of Savings” campaign, in partnership with Walmart, offers a series of shoppable gift guides, tips for how to navigate the holidays during uncharted times and a month-long opportunity to save on hundreds of Walmart products through December. Consumers can visit Shopping.Yahoo.com and Yahoo Life to learn more.
• Yahoo Mail is launching a virtual storefront feature, which offers new ways for our users to easily access relevant information from retailers in their inbox, like new deals, receipts, and package tracking in one place. Users can even browse products directly from the storefront, making it easier than ever to stay on top of holiday shopping this season.

Immersive Shopping Experiences

Leaning into Verizon Media’s industry-leading technology capabilities and creation of next gen immersive content, a series of innovative experiences will offer consumers opportunities to shop and view holiday gifts in a new dimension.

• Verizon’s 5G Holiday Market - powered by RYOT Studio - will be the first 5G ad and commerce experience, using augmented reality (AR) to allow users to open a portal, and “step into” a Verizon holiday themed store where they can interact (tap, spin, rotate, open hotspots) with phones, watches and speakers —and link out to purchase them (directly from Verizon's website). Consumers will also be able to send the items as gifts to friends and family. This experience will house both a 4G and 5G portal, ensuring that both sets of users receive a desirable store experience. TechCrunch will also feature an interactive gift guide that showcases 5G products from Verizon’s 5G Holiday Market.
• The Yahoo Life immersive feature “Countdown to Thanksgiving” brings beloved Thanksgiving classics to life with experiences showcasing facts about these favorite dishes.

Holiday Real Talk

This season, given the decrease in travel and the desire to connect with friends and family as some gatherings are expected to shift from in-person to virtual this year, Verizon Media properties are rolling out special content packages to help people through their holiday needs.

• HuffPost Life will offer a Guide To Surviving The Holidays. HuffPost will help people tackle the emotional labor, grief, relationship issues, health questions around traveling in 2020, and other obstacles getting in the way of the magic of the holidays. They’ll offer help for anyone struggling with mental health issues, money problems, travel issues, questions around what to make and how to entertain, and more. Additionally, HuffPost is planning live virtual events on holiday gifting.
• Yahoo Life will present “Welcome Home,” highlighting how families are connecting for the holidays this year and making memories under unusual circumstances — doing more with less. Expert-driven videos and articles to help you make the most of your holiday season, focused on togetherness and old traditions. Additionally, the “You’ve Got This Holiday” digital toolkit will feature content that empowers people to simplify the holiday season, with ideas from meal planning to self care, along with safe, budget-friendly ways to entertain kids.

Yahoo Finance will be publishing a series of stories geared toward the economic impact of an especially different holiday season this year. The coverage will touch on topics such as holiday travel, deals, cyber events, shopping economic outlook and more.