In the bustling landscape of online content, The Strategist, New York magazine’s product recommendation vertical, has carved a unique niche. As someone navigating the early stages of a journalism career in 2019, I was keenly aware of The Strategist‘s influence. It seemed everyone I knew owned something they’d discovered through their recommendations, from art prints to home décor. Landing an internship there felt like stepping into a world where editorial savvy met retail acumen. My background in sourcing and reselling vintage furniture gave me a unique perspective, and I soon found myself immersed in the inner workings of this successful platform.
One of the most striking revelations was The Strategist‘s financial engine. Affiliate marketing was the key, with partnerships spanning major retailers like Amazon, Target, and Nordstrom. Each product link was a potential revenue stream, generating a commission for The Strategist with every reader purchase. These small percentages added up significantly. As Alexis Swerdloff, then editor, shared, a successful article could generate upwards of thirteen thousand dollars. During a business meeting, Camilla Cho, then general manager of e-commerce, announced The Strategist had netted around fourteen million dollars in 2018, with ambitions to double that figure in 2019.
While not the pioneer in product recommendations, The Strategist has arguably mastered leveraging its brand for profit. Insiders revealed monthly revenues reaching at least two million dollars, with “very, very healthy” margins, according to Cho. This success story is not isolated. Legacy publications seeking new revenue models have ventured into e-commerce, with examples like The New York Times‘s Wirecutter and The Wall Street Journal‘s Buy Side. Style magazines have evolved into online marketplaces, and even The New Yorker now integrates affiliate links into gift guides and reviews, exemplified by a piece advocating for a pricey “Pellet Ice” maker.
However, not all product recommendation sites operate with the same rigor. Ben Frumin, Wirecutter’s editor in chief, highlighted a distinction: “Most players in this space don’t test products at all.” He pointed out a cynical approach prevalent in some corners of the online review space, where recommendations are based on readily available Amazon listings without genuine product evaluation. During my time at The Strategist, I witnessed elements of this. Amazon, contributing over 80% of the site’s revenue at the time, offered a vast product range and generous commissions, not just on recommended items but on entire shopping carts. This led to initiatives like “The People’s Choice,” featuring top-rated Amazon products, purportedly “vetted by editors.” However, this vetting often relied more on Amazon reviews – some of questionable authenticity – than hands-on testing.
My role included updating these “People’s Choice” articles, and I stumbled upon “review hijacking.” Product listings would link to customer reviews for completely different items. Vendors were manipulating the system by updating old, disused listings with new products, retaining the positive feedback to boost their ranking. This tactic highlighted the constant need for vigilance in maintaining the integrity of product recommendations.
The product review landscape has since matured, coinciding with declining digital ad rates and the rise of e-commerce as a “high-margin business” and a diversification strategy. While vital for revenue, Lauren Joseph, a former e-commerce writer, acknowledges that covering Amazon Prime Day sales may not be every journalist’s dream. Yet, it underscores the evolving realities of journalism and revenue generation. The question arises: how does product reviewing measure up in terms of editorial value?
The concept of product recommendations traces back to the early 20th century and the rise of consumer advocacy during the Great Depression. Organizations like Consumers Union, founded in 1936, emerged, publishing findings in Consumer Reports magazine. Consumer Reports adopted a confrontational stance, naming and criticizing products and even considering manufacturers’ labor practices. Refusing advertising, it positioned itself as solely serving its subscribers.
Post-World War II, a booming economy shifted consumer focus to product selection. Consumer Reports‘ readership surged as it became a guide for durable goods for an increasingly affluent middle class. Publications like New York magazine, launched in 1968, followed suit, aiming to guide city dwellers towards smart purchasing decisions. Early ads touted columns like “Urban Strategist” to help readers navigate spending wisely.
The internet revolutionized product recommendations, enabling retailers to track referral-based sales. In 1994, the first affiliate e-commerce network emerged, followed by Amazon’s affiliate network in 1996, offering commissions to media outlets. This addressed a growing problem: Amazon’s rapidly expanding marketplace, with its vast, sometimes confusing, catalog of products, many from unverified sellers. Product reviews became essential for navigating this complex landscape and providing a sense of security. Consumer Reports embraced affiliate networks, including Amazon’s, to ensure a “safe shopping experience,” according to Carol Lappin, their business development director.
Service journalism, in its essence, empowers consumers to navigate complexity. However, the revenue potential of retailer partnerships creates an incentive to amplify the anxieties of online shopping, suggesting that even buying a toaster requires expert guidance. Wirecutter’s Frumin describes their mission as “take the stress and negative emotions out of shopping,” solving problems consumers may not even know they have.
Wirecutter’s Long Island City office, a former printing facility, houses a team of 120 journalists, many working remotely. Their testing facility resembles a garage, filled with appliances and various products. Reporter Andrea Barnes demonstrated washing machine testing, using industry-standard stain strips and real-world challenges like pet-stained garments. She contrasted Wirecutter’s approach with Consumer Reports, suggesting the latter relies more on standardized lab tests, while Consumer Reports refutes this, highlighting their extensive real-world testing and advocacy for product recalls when safety issues arise.
Product recommendation sites like Wirecutter, established around 2011, have elevated product evaluation to a rigorous science. Their air purifier guide, for instance, involved months of research and extensive testing, resulting in a 22,000-word document. These guides are living documents, continually updated. Editorial independence is paramount at Wirecutter, ensuring unbiased recommendations.
Despite rigorous testing, individual preferences remain subjective. Stephanie DeVaan bought Strategist-recommended pillows that were no better than a cheap Target option. Kit Zauhar found a Wirecutter-endorsed dish rack inadequate and prone to mold. Astra Taylor’s Wirecutter “best coffee maker” leaked. No amount of testing can guarantee the “best” product for everyone. My own experience with a Wirecutter-recommended heating pad, which paled in comparison to a generic microwavable neck pillow, underscored this point. While products can be analyzed scientifically, personal preferences are inherently diverse.
Since my Strategist internship in 2019, New York magazine moved to a modern skyscraper. Maxine Builder, now editor of The Strategist, sees the building’s shopping mall as a metaphor: The Strategist aims to provide both practical recommendations and unexpected discoveries, going beyond just functional needs to offer “delight and surprise.”
Initially, The Strategist prioritized New York magazine’s sensibility – humor, style, celebrity appeal – over pure scientific analysis. However, a 2021 Google update prioritizing “high quality reviews” with “expert knowledge” and “quantitative measurements” prompted a shift. “People’s Choice,” reliant on customer feedback, was replaced by “Best in Class.” This new column adopted a more Wirecutter-esque approach, incorporating product testing and expert interviews, detailing evaluation metrics for even minor features.
This shift to “Best in Class” demanded significant changes from Strategist writers, requiring them to retrofit older articles and conduct extensive research under tighter deadlines, leading to burnout and staff turnover. Despite the pressure, Vox Media maintains that editorial integrity remains paramount.
The financial incentives of e-commerce raise questions about potential overreach. Builder sees the pressures as inherent to journalism, not just e-commerce. However, Strategist writers operate with the knowledge of the significant revenue they generate. While writers were previously shown financial data highlighting the potential of a single article to equal their annual salary, this practice has ceased, perhaps relieving some pressure while obscuring the economic realities of their work.
Other media companies exhibit even greater pressure. Condé Nast employs a centralized search team that coordinates e-commerce content across publications, with writers facing increasing revenue targets and weekly “refreshes” to game Google’s algorithm. These refreshes, while seemingly minor, can lead to homogenized recommendations across different Condé Nast sites, as teams are effectively competing to promote the same products.
The industry’s embrace of product reviews echoes the “pivot to video” misstep, highlighting the risks of chasing platform-driven trends. Amazon’s own history, including accusations of exploiting seller data to develop its Amazon Basics line, serves as a cautionary tale. Google’s AI-generated review feature further threatens product review sites by potentially displacing them in search results.
Despite these challenges, media executives express confidence in the power of “editorial voice.” However, the increasing similarity of product reviews and their often excessive length raise questions about their true value. McKinsey & Company projects a massive potential for “commerce media” revenue by 2026, urging publishers to “become more like a retailer.”
My Strategist experience ultimately led me away from e-commerce journalism. When encouraged to pitch article ideas, I considered writing about a Danish mobile company, admiring their kinetic sculptures. However, I hesitated, disliking the idea of my personal appreciation becoming a Strategist-driven trend or fodder for generic gift guides. I kept the idea to myself.
Looking out from New York’s office, towards the bustling Port Elizabeth, I saw a vast flow of products being unloaded, destined to be monetized as internet content. This image encapsulated the complex and sometimes uneasy intersection of commerce and content in the digital age.
