Youtube strikes partnership with Shopify-MBW

YouTube is expanding its e-commerce tools for creators.Firstly, the company has partnered with online shopping services platform Shopify to let creators sell products across their YouTube channels.Eligible creators can now link their Shopify stores to their YouTube channel, with creators linking their stores to get access to Shopify’s real-time inventory syncing.In the US, creators can also enable “onsite checkout” which means that viewers/consumers can complete purchases without leaving the YouTube platform.

In addition, YouTube is introducing a new shopping destination in its ‘explore’ tab that it says will feature shoppable relevant content for viewers in the US, Brazil and India, with additional countries to roll out later this year.The platform has also introduced new tools within the YouTube Studio ‘Shopping’ tab to let creators manage how their products are tagged and appear across their channel.Additionally, all eligible creators can now access live shopping features like the ability to tag products to a live stream directly from YouTube’s Live Control Room.

YouTube says that it will continue to expand its shopping features across its long-form video, as well as Live and its TikTok rival Shorts.

YouTube’s latest e-commerce updates come after social video platform TikTok launched its own shopping tool in the UK in December 2021 in the form of “TikTok Shop” which lets creators sell products directly on TikTok through in-feed videos and live streams.The UK was TikTok Shop’s first market outside Asia. The FT reported earlier this month that TikTok had scrapped the expansion of its TikTok Shop feature into Europe and the US.Campaign reported that TikTok disputed the FT’s claim that it planned to expand into a handful of European markets in the first half of 2022.

Shopify’s partnership with YouTube follows a tie-up with Spotify last year on a new integration that to let artists sell merch via their artist profiles.

The music streaming platform said at the time that its deal with Shopify formed part of its focus “on developing new tools and resources to help artists turn listeners into fans, fans into superfans, and, ultimately, earn more”.

In a statement issued today, Shopify’s VP of Product Kaz Nejatian said that its partnership with YouTube will “help scale the creator economy into its next phase of growth.”He added” “We believe creators are the next generation of merchants, and YouTube has been a long-time leader in powering this new cohort of entrepreneurs”.