According to a report in the Financial Times, YouTube is expanding its short-form video platform to include e-commerce feature that will allow viewers pay for products as they scroll through Shorts. In a move that mimics rivals TikTok and Instagram, Shorts will soon enable in-app purchases.
As it rolls out in the coming year, first in the US, Canada, Australia, Brazil, and India, creators will each receive 45% of the advertising revenue generated by their videos. YouTube has indicated that it hopes to eventually expand the service internationally.
After launching shoppable ads in 2020 and livestream shopping in 2021, YouTube is making this final step toward becoming an ecommerce destination.
The video-sharing platform also intends to roll out an “affiliate marketing program” that would reward certain content creators with a cut of the revenue made from promoting products.
The test, which will come to only creators in the US for now, will give creators the ability to earn commissions through purchases of recommended products in their Shorts and regular videos. YouTube says it plans to gradually expand the experiment to more creators in the coming year.
According to Michael Martin, general manager of YouTube Shopping, “It is very much an endorsement model, versus a more traditional advertising model or a paid-placement model,” as quoted by the Financial Times. “Our goal is to focus on the best monetization opportunities for creators in the market.”
It is anticipated that more creators will have access to this program after its initial testing phase concludes in 2023.
Most social media platforms are looking for new avenues to monetize content, both for themselves and for authors. This follows the sudden decrease in ad spending with the introduction of iOS 14.5, which allowed iPhone users to opt-out of tracking, and amid fears of an impending economic slump.
Hits and misses are common for an unexplored territory as this. Facebook had to discontinued its live shopping service few months ago to place a greater emphasis on Reels, its short-form video service that competes directly with YouTube Shorts and TikTok. It retained Facebook Live, but it took away the ability for online stores to tag products or make playlists of products.
Recently, TikTok added a shopping feature to the app for users in the United States. This feature allows users to buy products without having to leave the social media platform. The feature is now live in the United Kingdom and Indonesia.
