This fall, Connexity and Skimlinks brought together leading minds across the commerce content and monetization space to connect and share intelligence on our rapidly evolving industry. Uncapped, a new event held in New York, shone a spotlight on how key publishers and shopping platforms are adapting and thriving in a changing media ecosystem.
Two expert panels connected to track where commerce media is headed and share cutting-edge strategies to stay ahead of the curve. One tackled the quest to meet savvy shoppers where they’re going next, while the other focused on building a resilient revenue portfolio that can withstand market volatility.
These agenda-setting discussions are landmarks for where commerce monetization stands on the cusp of 2026, and how Connexity and Skimlinks will help push it forward in the year to come.
Next is Now: How to meet consumers where they’re going
The first panel united diverse perspectives — from editorial giants to innovative shopping platforms — to focus on the shared challenge of connecting with consumers whose habits are changing alongside the technology they use to discover products.
Featuring leaders from a gifting platform, a leading link-in-bio platform, a premier product review publication, a global media and tech company and an insights analyst from Connexity, the conversation highlighted key opportunities to leverage Connexity and Skimlinks’ actionable performance data to win the future.
Three key takeaways emerged, sure to resonate into 2026:
Consumers are everywhere, so your content must be, too. The path to purchase is no longer linear; it’s fragmented across social media, curated platforms, and trusted publications. Relying too heavily on any one outlet means missing out on crucial steps of the consumer journey. Success demands having the right content and offers ready wherever the consumer lands first.
Trust is the new performance metric. Publishers must maintain authenticity and allow the highest quality products to shine through, whether that’s via journalist reviews or user-generated influence. Scaling efficiently requires technology that streamlines connections to top brands and appealing offers without sacrificing integrity.
Data drives good decisions. All speakers agreed that in the current market, “guessing” what works is no longer an option. Neither is checking what worked last year. Performance data must drive content strategy. The most successful publishers and shopping platforms are quickly identifying topics, products and brands that resonate and optimizing their approach to drive sales in a timely fashion.
The panel confirmed that while these editorial publications and shopping platforms may seem distinct, their core challenge is aligned: delivering trustworthy, relevant product recommendations that drive sales in a complex, multi-channel world.
Connexity and Skimlinks aid in precisely the type of curation necessary to stay on top of the online shopping game. Our tools and insights highlight surging products, with a bird’s eye view from the center of the fast-moving e-commerce marketplace, and surface the best offers to make sure publishers deploy the best links at all times.
Beyond the Click: Diversifying revenue and driving growth
The evening’s second panel immersed the audience in the ideas helping leading commerce media properties build multi-stream revenue portfolios primed for evergreen success.
Leading voices from a global news publisher, two prominent Buy Now, Pay Later providers, a popular wish list platform, a shopping comparison service and a digital advertising agency detailed their industry-leading thinking on how to create the flexibility to navigate headwinds and chase gains.
Here are the three key takeaways from that fascinating conversation:
Diversity drives resilient profitability. Relying on a single revenue stream is a critical vulnerability. The successful strategy is to diversify monetization to make the most of key shopping moments. That means testing new verticals, especially those that resist economic downturns, and exploring all the revenue opportunities a platform or audience allows, including placements in search features or email messaging.
Strategic thinking maximizes partnerships. Top-performing players in the space are taking a sophisticated approach to choosing between cost per acquisition (CPA) and cost per click (CPC) commission models. One panelist explained that CPA is reserved for Tier 1 partners with strong, negotiated relationships, while CPC helps maintain profitability and provides the flexibility to take calculated risks in pursuit of incremental advertiser placements. The optionality is essential for growth, opening a runway to interesting, frictionless and profitable monetization with any type of brand.
Win growth through new channels. Search and social aren’t static forces in the product discovery process. They’re changing quickly, and so are their users. Commerce content platforms must test new paths. Some are leveraging the power of rewards and loyalty programs to strengthen merchant partnerships and drive repeat customer engagement, while others are employing AI to process complex data for localization and personalization that will improve targeting and boost the effectiveness of product recommendations.
The success stories shared by our panelists wouldn’t be possible without a technology partner that offers the breadth of monetization options and the critical performance data needed to make these forward-thinking decisions.
Connexity is that partner, enabling our clients to confidently diversify their revenue streams, optimize their partnerships, and look to the future with confidence.