Hulu Ventures into E-Commerce and Launches Online Shop, But the Sweaters are Not What You Would Expect

Sophie Webster, Tech Times 18 November 2021, 02:11 pm

Hulu has officially launched its very own online shop featuring products from its most popular shows.

The streaming service followed the footsteps of its rival, Netflix, which also launched its shopping site that allowed fans to buy merchandise and other products from their favorite shows, like "Stranger Things."

Hulu's Online Shop

Hulu announced the launch of Shop Hulu that will feature limited-edition collections of lifestyle products and apparel from Hulu Originals and other titles in the streaming service's library. Shop Hulu will also make the "Ugly Holiday Sweaters" available for purchase for the first time in years.

Hulu started giving away its ugly sweaters to some lucky fans as part of its marketing strategy in 2019. Soon, the giveaway became trending, thus, making the streaming service turn into sweepstakes in 2020, giving fans a chance to win one of the ugly sweaters.

The ugly sweaters featured popular Hulu shows like "Shrill," "The Handmaid's Tale," and "Little Fires Everywhere." The selection of holiday sweaters for this year will be available for purchase beginning Nov. 30, according to TechCrunch.

Also Read: Hulu Watch Party Official Release: How to Use, View Movies and Series with Friends and Family!

The lineup this year includes "Solar Opposites," "Love, Victor," "The Great," "Wu-Tang: An American Saga," and "The Handmaid's Tale."

However, unlike Netflix that invested in its online store as a new part of its retail business, Hulu's product line is created to raise funds for charity, according to AdWeek.

The streaming service will give 100% of the purchase price from the sale of the ugly sweater collection minus taxes and shipping fees.

The purchase price will be given to Feeding America. Hulu estimates that it will get a total of $54,950 if it sells 1,000 sweaters.

Hulu's online shop will continue to feature other products until Dec. 31. Fans of "Solar Opposites" will be able to purchase glassware, apparel, stickers, and more as the holiday special of the show premiers on Nov. 22.

The collection was created with Executive Producers Justin Roiland, Josh Bycel, and Mike McMahan.

Also available on the shop are apparel and household items from shows like "Wu-Tang: An American Saga," "The Orville," and themed merchandise from award-winning shows like "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia," "Grey's Anatomy," "What We Do in the Shadows," and "American Horror Story."

Hulu will offer a discount to shoppers that will sign up for the newsletter. The company also plans to give special offers, including those revealed on Black Friday and Cyber Monday.

Hulu Added Dozens of Christmas Movies

Aside from the ugly sweater collection, Hulu has also announced a massive list of holiday-themed movies that is now available on the platform, according to ComicBook.com.

Most of the movies are low-to-mid-budget romcoms and family movies that can also be found on Hallmark and other similar streaming services.

The oldest holiday movie on the list is "The Secret of the Nutcracker," released in 2007. There are also a couple of recent movies, like "Rock n' Roll Christmas," released in 2019.

The whole streaming industry has been learning about Christmas movies in the past few years because they are inexpensive to make and they attract thousands of viewers.

Hulu has made a lot of adjustments on the platform these past few years. In 2019, Hulu added ads to videos that are streamed, and they pop up when the video is paused.

In 2020, Hulu had problems with its download feature that it was forced to slow down PC streaming so app users could download content.