Shopify Lets Gamers Buy Things While Playing

We live in an era of convenience. We want to be able to order food from our phones while we sit on the couch. We want to order band merchandise before the show to skip the lines. Now, we can order video game merchandise without having to turn off the console, thanks to Shopify.

Venturebeat reported that Shopify is letting gamers buy items like T-shirts, hats and toys from in-game menus. The Custom Storefront development kit allows for a new angle for e-commerce professionals. Developers can create shopping hubs on websites, mobile apps, in-game menus and more.

Shopify's new format allows gamers to buy branded merchandise in the game. (Image via Venturebeat)

Venturebeat writes:

As an example, the mobile game Alto’s Adventure uses the Unity Buy [software development kit (SDK)] to sell branded T-shirts and character-themed merchandise. With this SDK, Alto’s Adventure was able to make the buying experience feel like an authentic part of the game’s universe with low development effort.

The Storefront API is the engine behind creating custom storefronts, and the easiest way to understand it is to compare it to the storefront of a retail store. The physical storefront is an area where customers can browse and buy products. Similarly, the Storefront API powers the set of actions customers can perform in a digital store. This includes viewing products, adding products to the cart and checking out. How to implement these features is fully in the developer’s control.

With the growing popularity of mobile gaming alongside console and PC gaming, this presents a large market for companies to sell branded merchandise and put their names in front of customers.