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Yahoo
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Monetization
Commerce
Ecosystem
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Phase 1 — Shoppable video module
Yahoo had a massive content audience and zero commerce infrastructure. Across three phases, we built Yahoo’s shoppable content ecosystem from nothing — starting with a scrappy MVP, growing it into a platform, and ultimately creating the conditions for Yahoo Shopping to exist. The work took editorial content from a passive experience to a revenue-generating commerce destination.
Following the launch of Yahoo Play, the team learned that interactive features meaningfully drive user engagement, retention, and revenue. Yahoo Lifestyle was producing high-quality editorial content — videos and articles featuring products users actually wanted — but the experience stopped there. No way to discover, compare, or buy. The opportunity was hiding in plain sight.
How might we increase user engagement in Yahoo Lifestyle articles and grow commerce revenue using the media formats we already have?
The data backed our direction before we designed a single wireframe.
The initial ambition was in-video interactivity — product hotspots that activate as items appear on screen. That would require image recognition and a new product database. Too slow for a hypothesis test. We made a deliberate call: ship fast, limit scope, prove demand. Instead, we designed a synchronized product carousel alongside the video — no new infrastructure required.
I did some quick brainstorming and generated a few mocks in one afternoon to initiate the conversation with the Product leadership.
In-video interactivity concept 1
In-video interactivity concept 2
Once the team was onboard, I explored how product tiles could live alongside video content — different layouts, card shapes, and levels of visual prominence.
Exploration 1
We tested multiple designs with real users. The response was immediate and enthusiastic — and pointed clearly toward showing more products together.
"All the items that she talks about here, you don’t have to hunt and search for it, it’s right here. That’s actually pretty cool!"
"I would love if they were to launch something like this on YouTube. It feels like TV, internet, etc. are becoming integrated."
Screen recording from a live article
The final design pairs video with a synchronized product carousel. As the video progresses, the corresponding product is highlighted automatically.
Final design — shoppable video with synchronized product carousel
We launched on a single article targeting Amazon Prime Day. One article. The results were extraordinary.
The PM’s message to the team after seeing the results
The shoppable video success opened the door to a bigger question: how do we bring this to image-based articles and build a richer product discovery experience? I explored shoppable image carousels and a dedicated product detail and comparison page — giving users deeper research tools within Yahoo.
Shoppable image article exploration
The success of our experiments gave birth to Fireplace — a full suite of editorial tools empowering Yahoo editors to add interactivity to any content format, not just commerce. I collaborated with another designer to build the editor-side platform. Fireplace and shoppable content got featured at company-wide events, was promoted across all internal screens, and became a core part of Yahoo’s product strategy.
Shoppable content featured across company screens
Presenting at a company event
Featured in Yahoo Commerce Strategy
The team set ambitious Q1 targets. We didn’t just hit them — we exceeded every single one, often by mid-quarter.
Yahoo’s homepage received massive traffic, but commerce was still under-optimized. Revenue was tied to the volatile news cycle: if a major news story bumped shopping content off the homepage stream, revenue dropped. We needed a dedicated, permanent placement that users could learn to rely on for deals.
How might we expand commerce across the Yahoo ecosystem and help users see Yahoo as a destination to find the best deals — without relying on the news cycle?
I explored a wide range of visual treatments — from aggressive distinction to subtle — to give the Commerce Module its own identity within the homepage stream. I worked closely with the Homepage Design team and engineering to stay within layout and technical constraints.
Desktop design explorations
Technical constraints meant pulling multiple images per article wasn’t possible for MVP. We shipped a single-image version with a section title. CTR wasn’t strong enough. Rather than accepting it, we went back with clearer principles: make it bigger, lead with a hero image, add a CTA to the shopping hub, and advise editorial to use clean product photography.
Iteration explorations based on revised design principles
Final desktop design — clean, minimal visual noise, achieved CTR goal when tested
I designed two mobile variants for bucket testing. Both used edge-to-edge imagery and a CTA to the shopping hub. Design 1 — featuring hero image + small card carousel — won decisively.
Design 1 — Winner
Hero + small card carousel + CTA — 4.78% CTR
Design 2
Equal-size card carousel — 3.77% CTR
The commerce ecosystem we built ultimately led to the creation of Yahoo Shopping — a dedicated shopping deals destination. From zero commerce infrastructure to millions in revenue and a standalone product, the journey was complete: editors had powerful tools, users had a frictionless experience, and the company had a new revenue stream.
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