YouTube partners with Shopify to add in-person shopping features
In this illustration, the logo of Canadian e-commerce company Shopify Inc. displayed on the smartphone.
Thomas Trutschel | beautiful pictures
YouTube announced on Tuesday that it partnered with the e-commerce platform Shopify to allow viewers to purchase products without leaving their website.
Shopify’s stock was up about 2.5% on the mid-morning news.
For example, it means someone watching a YouTube video might see a list of items on the page that the creator thinks they might be interested in. If you’re watching videos on the tech YouTube channel, you’ve probably seen add-ons you can buy right from the page using Shopify. Or you can watch makeup products on a beauty channel. Creators can manage what products are available in the ‘Shopping’ tab in YouTube Studio.
The entire transaction happens while someone is watching the video, which can help YouTube keep viewers who would otherwise leave the site to buy products elsewhere. The company says it’s also planning to expand its shopping features to Live, Shorts, and long-form video.
YouTube says viewers in the US, Brazil and India will see the products they can buy in the discovery tab starting next week, with other countries launching later this year.