Popular eCommerce website builder Shopify partners with YouTube to let eCommerce platform owners integrate their online store with the iconic video site.
Thanks to this collaboration, Shopify merchants can now also sell products through live streams, videos, or through a store tab.
With YouTube Live as a sales tool, merchants can tag and brand products at key moments during a live stream. Picture-in-picture playback will give consumers the ability to watch as they pay.
YouTube as an e-commerce platform
In addition to selling live, those who own an online store can also organize a list of products in a product shelf below the videos on demand.
“YouTube has been a vital part of building the creator economy over the past decade, and Shopify has helped millions of merchants quickly start, operate, grow and manage storefronts,” said Shimona Mehta, General Manager of Shopify. EMEA.
“By partnering, we are accelerating the next evolution of social commerce by giving creators and marketers more ways to sustainably monetize and build successful businesses, while authentically connecting with their fans and buyers.”
YouTube has also included a new store tab that will be featured on merchants' YouTube channels and features their entire selection of products.
"For years, creators have built businesses around their YouTube content, often extending their entrepreneurial spirit into creating their own brands, but it hasn't been as easy to reach their audience with these products directly on YouTube," he added. David Katz, Vice President. Purchasing President. Product on YouTube.
"We're thrilled to partner with Shopify to help creators easily put their stores front and center for their YouTube communities, who are increasingly turning to them for purchases."
Available now, Shopify says that giving merchants the ability to sell their products online is its way of helping retailers overcome the challenges they face selling due to an increasing economic downturn.
Shopify acts as a merchant's retail operating system and will keep product details including names, images, prices, and shipping up to date across all channels. If a product is out of stock, it is automatically removed from YouTube.
Merchants can track live and on-demand video performance right from their Shopify admin, with a complete view of cross-channel sales.
