Google tries to turn YouTube into a shopping destination
Bloomberg
Every toy, gadget and good you see on YouTube could soon be for sale online—not on Amazon, but right on YouTube itself.
The world’s largest video site recently started asking creators to use YouTube software to tag and track products featured in their clips. The data will then be linked to analytics and shopping tools from parent Google.
The goal is to convert YouTube’s bounty of videos into a vast catalogue of items that viewers can peruse, click on and buy directly, according to people familiar with the situation.
The company is also testing a new integration with Shopify Inc. for selling items through YouTube.
A YouTube spokesperson confirmed the company is testing these features with a limited number of video channels. Creators
will have control over the products that are displayed, the spokesperson said. The company described this as an experiment and declined to share more details.
The moves have the potential to transform YouTube from an advertising giant into a new contender for e-commerce leaders such as Amazon.com Inc. and Alibaba Group Holding Ltd.
“YouTube is one of the least utilised assets,” said Andy Ellwood, president of e-commerce startup Basket. “If they decided they want to invest in it, it’s a huge opportunity for them.”
It’s unclear how YouTube will generate revenue from these sales. However, the service has begun offering subscriptions for creators and takes a cut of 30% from those payments.
Alphabet Inc.’s Google has taken multiple stabs at online commerce, with limited success. The company has mostly preferred to sell ads that send people to other digital stores, rather than selling products itself.
However, the pandemic has hammered marketing budgets, particularly in the travel and physical retail sectors that are major Google advertisers.
Meanwhile, e-commerce has boomed as people stay home and order more products online.
That’s left Google watching from the sidelines as rivals such as Facebook Inc. and its Instagram app become hotbeds of online shopping.
Amazon, the US e-commerce Goliath, has seen sales soar, while Google suffered its first ever revenue decline in the second quarter.
For months now, Google executives have signaled that YouTube will be central to their e-commerce strategy.
The company has also revamped its e-commerce and payments division.
The goal is to convert YouTube’s bounty of videos into a vast catalogue that viewers can peruse, click on and buy directly.