Omni Talk Retail: Inside Amazon's Social Commerce Strategy with Julie Haleluk & Wayne Purboo

Spotlight Series | November 4, 2025

Episode Overview

In this episode of the Omni Talk Retail Spotlight Series, hosts Chris Walton and Anne Mezzenga dive deep into Amazon’s evolving approach to social commerce and shoppable video. Joined by Julie Haleluk (Global Head of Growth, Amazon Shoppable Video) and Wayne Purboo (VP, Amazon Advertising & Amazon Shoppable Video), the discussion centers on how Amazon leverages video, AI, and data to build emotional connections, drive growth, and prepare for the next phase of retail—where humans and artificial intelligence increasingly collaborate. The episode not only offers a behind-the-scenes look at Amazon's current strategies and future ambitions, but also provides a broader industry perspective on the direction of social commerce.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Introductions & Roles at Amazon

• Wayne Purboo oversees Amazon's shoppable video platform—including product video on detail pages, brand stores, and live shopping (“Amazon Live”) that has been running for six years.

  • [03:10]
  • “Wherever you see video that helps you make a better purchase decision, my team's responsible.” – Wayne Purboo

• Julie Haliluk is responsible for growth—primarily around marketing, revenue, and adoption of Amazon Shoppable Video among consumers, brands, and creators.

  • [03:47]
  • “Really it's about driving adoption with consumers, brands and creators as this social commerce landscape...continues to grow and evolve.” – Julie Haliluk

2. The Importance & Evolution of Social Commerce

• Both highlight SOCOM, a rising social commerce conference gathering thought leaders from brands, agencies, and platforms, as a key space to learn and share emerging practices.

  • [04:32–06:00]

• Julie: The consumer journey is no longer linear; people move from awareness to conversion within seconds, often looping back. Adapting marketing to this behavior is crucial.

  • [06:29]
  • “It's one journey and they're going from awareness to conversion and back and forth in a matter of seconds.”

• Anticipated conference themes:

  • The new shopping journey
  • The impact of generative AI
  • Measurement and attribution in a non-linear, omni-touchpoint world

3. How Amazon Defines (& Redefines) Social Commerce

• Wayne: Social commerce is “not yet defined;” the rise of AI and answer engines (like ChatGPT, Perplexity, Sora) is fundamentally reshaping the space.

  • [08:05]
  • “There was a definition of social commerce that we've been enjoying for the last four or five years...a whole new blue ocean's opened up with AI that now changes that customer journey and therefore changes [social commerce] on behalf of brands.”

• Customers now use “answer engines” and are not fully satisfied, returning to trusted platforms like Amazon and authentic creators to complete journeys.

  • [10:32]
  • “So many of them are starting on answer engines...but what we're seeing is they're not completely satisfied...they're still going to Amazon, to creators...sources of truth.”

4. Measuring Success in a Multi-Touch, Video-First World

• The value of content, especially live and video, extends far beyond a single moment—Amazon now tracks engagement and uplift over months, recognizing video’s emotional resonance.

  • [13:28]
  • “One of the big things that videos do better than any other creative format is they create an emotion. And we know, as humans, emotions last longer...” – Wayne Purboo

• New tools like Amazon Live Signals allow advertisers to see impact throughout the customer journey—e.g., a 17x higher purchase rate when customers see both an ad and a live stream.

  • [12:19]
  • “When a customer sees an ad, but then they also see the live format, we start to see 17 times higher purchase rates.” – Julie Haliluk

• Key Takeaway: Video content, when evergreen and strategically placed, creates long-term, multi-touch value for brands, impacting not just immediate sales but brand awareness and loyalty.

  • [14:38]
  • “Content, when it's done right, is evergreen, especially video content…”

5. Audience Building & the Power of Authenticity

• The core insight: Creators make one-to-many feel like one-to-one; trust and authenticity are essential, making ‘following’ a brand or creator a powerful sign of connection.
  • [15:26]
  • “Creators have this incredible ability to make that one-to-many relationship feel personable and one-to-one...because the person on the other end feels like they know them and they trust them.” – Julie Haliluk

6. AI & The Ongoing Role of Humans in Social Commerce

• AI is revolutionizing content creation and personalization, but the human touch—emotional resonance, trust, and judgment—remains irreplaceable.

  • [17:10]
  • “AI could be one or multiple of those 20 touch points...But...there is this human element in terms of really driving that emotional connection...the human is critical.” – Julie Haliluk

• Wayne’s “Agentic Commerce” Model:

  • Three categories arising:
    1. Social commerce – humans with humans
    2. Hybrid – humans with agents
    3. Agentic commerce – agents transacting with agents
  • [20:14]
  • “There’s social commerce where there are humans interacting with humans...a hybrid...and then there’s agentic commerce, which is just agents interacting on behalf of humans with other agents to make purchases.”

• Social commerce isn’t going away soon; instead, AI enhances and modifies but does not supplant human-driven commerce, especially for younger generations raised in social environments.

  • [21:55]
  • “I don't see social commerce the way it is today going away anytime soon because...a whole generation have been brought up on [it]…”

7. Practical Brand Advice: Preparing for the Agentic Era

• Key brand responsibility: Ensure all public data—product information, brand pages, etc.—is up to date and accurate. AI agents scrape the entire internet, so outdated info directly becomes part of their “training.”
  • [26:45]
  • “Be really good custodians of the data about your brand that is publicly available. The agents will read every page on every website...and propagate it very, very rapidly.” – Wayne Purboo

8. Looking Forward: Amazon’s Most Exciting Innovations

• Julie spotlights “Shop the Show” on Prime Video – a synchronized shopping experience while watching Prime, making instant purchase from TV content seamless.

  • [29:22]
  • “...Shop the Show...We've all been there where we’re watching the big screen and we're inspired by something we see...So we created an experience...synchronized with the big screen, so it makes it significantly easier to find something that you're inspired by.”

• Overall, both guests anticipate further advances in generative AI, creative tooling, and video-driven shopping—all in the service of making discovery and purchase easier, more enjoyable, and more “human.”

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Wayne Purboo [08:05]:

  “There was a definition of social commerce that we've been enjoying for the last four or five years...a whole new blue ocean’s opened up with AI that now changes that customer journey…”

• Julie Haliluk [12:19]:

  “When a customer sees an ad, but then they also see the live format, we start to see 17 times higher purchase rates.”

• Wayne Purboo [13:28]:

  “One of the big things that videos do better than any other creative format is they create an emotion. And we know, as humans, emotions last longer.”

• Julie Haliluk [15:26]:

  “Creators have this incredible ability to make that one-to-many relationship feel personable and one-to-one...because the person on the other end feels like they know them and they trust them.”

• Wayne Purboo [20:14]:

  “There’s social commerce where there are humans interacting with humans...a hybrid...and then there’s agentic commerce, which is just agents interacting on behalf of humans with other agents to make purchases.”

• Julie Haliluk [29:22]:

  “...Shop the Show...We created an experience...synchronized with the big screen, so it makes it significantly easier to find something that you're inspired by.”

Timestamps for Key Segments

• [03:10–04:10]: Guest Introductions & Roles
• [04:32–06:29]: The Promise and Themes of the SOCOM Conference
• [06:29–08:05]: How Social Commerce is Redefining the Consumer Journey
• [08:05–10:32]: The Impact of AI and Real-Time Knowledge on Shopping Behavior
• [11:11–14:38]: Measuring Video Content Success & Video as an Emotional Driver
• [15:26–16:18]: Building Audiences & Authenticity’s Importance
• [17:10–21:55]: The Human Role in Social Commerce and the Rise of “Agentic Commerce”
• [26:45–28:40]: Brand Data Stewardship for the Agentic AI Era
• [29:22–30:56]: Amazon’s “Shop the Show” and Experiential Innovation

Concluding Insights

• Human creativity, authenticity, and connection remain the bedrock of social commerce, even as AI tools expand possibilities and reshape customer journeys.
• Brands must not only create great content and embrace new formats like shoppable video, but also act as vigilant stewards of their data, preparing for a world where both humans and AI agents play central roles in shopping.
• Amazon’s innovation focus: removing friction, connecting inspiration and action, and experimenting with new video-driven and AI-enhanced experiences.

For more insights and retail strategy discussions, connect with the guests at the upcoming SOCOM conference or follow Omni Talk Retail’s Spotlight Series.