scale when it launches early next year, under the leadership of Vogue’s executive fashion director, Lisa Aiken.  The pair both insist their platforms differ from competing players by allowing consumers to check out through the platforms themselves, rather than being redirected to the brands’ or retailers’ sites.  What retail experts had to say about My Sephora Storefront and Vette These new platforms are part of a concentrated effort to grab a slice of the nearly US$16 billion affiliate marketing space. Currently, the space is led by a few major creator-led shopping platforms. LikeToKnow.it, more commonly referred to as LTK, boasts 40 million monthly shoppers and brings in $5 billion in annual consumer sales, while ShopMy, which scored $77.5 million in funding in 2025, is led by investors that previously backed Shopify and Rent the Runway. CI&T’s global director of retail strategy, Melissa Minkow, has a fairly positive outlook on Sephora and Condé Nast’s chances to compete against these more established players.  “They’re not just going straight to the source by teaming up with creators, they’re becoming the source themselves,” she told Inside Retail. “The reason TikTok has been such a successful commerce platform for brands is because of how authentic the content is in providing trustworthy, honest entertainment surrounding products that both non-influencers and influencers are organically discussing.” So long as Sephora and Condé Nast’s content creators maintain a similar level of authenticity as TikTok’s creators have done, Minkow believes that the shopping platforms should be successful. They could also be the next step in influencer marketing. Similar to how brands have been starting their own substacks, platforms like these allow companies to create “content consumers want in the beauty and fashion category, from resources they trust, in a one-stop, shoppable setting.” Global Data managing director Neil Saunders similarly argues that influencers play a very important role in the discovery of new products, especially among younger consumers. “This is why many retailers and brands are working closely with influencers and are making them an integral part of their sales funnel,” he said.  Saunders added that while many brands already work with influencers with affiliate links, this method tends to be a bit messier and is heavily dependent on the content creator’s ability to connect with their audience. A marketplace, though, could be a “much more immersive experience”.  A natural and timely pivot Christine Russo, the principal of Retail Creative and Consulting Agency (RCCA), believes these platforms set a new standard for the future of commerce.  “Vette appears to bring the best of all their [Condé Nast’s] strengths while embracing the new,” Russo told Inside Retail.  “They have authority, eyeballs, an engaged audience, industry credibility and all of this [used to] fund ads for the articles and editorials. With those revenue streams diminished, a pivot to commerce seems natural and, more importantly, timely.” Whereas with My Sephora Storefront, Russo reflects that this is a natural evolution of the creator/influencer engagement Sephora has been cultivating. “In the past five years, beauty has been one of the leading categories to be most impacted by creator and influencer growth. With consumer expectations for search and discovery modified to a more conversational format because of AI and GPTs (custom versions of ChatGPT), the expectation is that their marketplace would evolve as well,” she said. “I believe the consumer is ready for this in a big way.”