Get Ready to Expand Your Shopify Marketplace to YouTube
Introduction
As part of its gradual expansion with integrated marketing tools, YouTube has recently revealed its new alliance with Shopify. This partnership will allow YouTubers with Shopify stores to display merchandise throughout their channels and content on YouTube.
YouTube video creators and their viewers share a special bond. It's through this trust that viewers look to creators for information on what they eventually purchase. According to a YouTube co-sponsored research, 89% of content viewers stated creators give them reliable recommendations. The YouTube Shopping integration will ensure a seamless experience for creator and viewer alike, in fun and creative ways.
Through the Google Channel app in Shopify’s add-on tools, creators can now activate YouTube Shopping, connecting their YouTube account to showcase merchandise from their Shopify stores. With these connected accounts, it’s easier than ever for creators to keep their focus on content creation.
YouTubers also gain from real-time syncing of Shopify inventory, assuring that viewers won’t be disappointed by finding their chosen product is out of stock. For an even smoother customer checkout, YouTubers in the U.S. can allow onsite checkout so shoppers can finalize their purchases while remaining on YouTube.
Integrating Shopify on YouTube
There are three ways content creators can feature their merchandise on YouTube:
- Livestream: Shopify sellers can tag and pin merchandise at key elements in a livestream from the Live Control Room. With picture-in-a-picture playback, shoppers can keep watching while checking out.
- Video: Shopify sellers can display a compiled product list within a product shelf found below videos on-demand.
- Store tab: Another tab is added to a seller’s YouTube channel, showing the store’s complete line of merchandise.To qualify for Shopify integration, merchants must have at least 1,000 subscribers in addition to appropriate content and an acceptable limit of negative strikes. For a merchant meeting these criteria, it can be a great way for maximizing your merchandise exposure, while at the same time helping YouTube grow in its thrust into in-app purchasing.
YouTube's Race With TikTok
Recently in-app purchasing has been a greater focus for YouTube, with rival TikTok planning to combine livestream purchasing and other tools for e-marketing with instream selling which is currently a high-earning method for TikTok’s Chinese version, Douyin.
To date, these features haven’t been as popular in western countries as they have in China. But in anticipation of future popularity, YouTube is endeavoring to prevent TikTok dominance in yet another aspect of video interaction, especially as shoppers currently use YouTube for product discovery, product research, and making purchase decisions.
Subsequently, YouTube is developing various incorporated shopping options, such as live shopping, and is seeking to further its merchant base in the near future.
Shopping and Explore Tabs
Furthermore, YouTube has placed new tools in YouTube Studio’s ‘Shopping’ tab, which helps YouTubers control the way their merchandise is tagged and presented throughout the channel.
Another new launch is shoppable content within the ‘Explore’ tab that features relevant merchandise inside the app. Currently, this is only available for those in the U.S., Brazil, and India. However, more countries will be getting similar access later in the year.
Conclusion
With Shopify being the foremost infrastructure for eCommerce, powering millions of online marketplaces worldwide, YouTube and Shopify will soon propel the YouTuber marketplace economy to the next level of expansion.