YouTube is saying goodbye to Simsim.
It acquired the Indian social ecommerce startup in a 2021 deal that reportedly valued Simsim at $70 million. At the time, YouTube said its goal with the acquisition was to “help small businesses and retailers in India reach new customers in even more powerful ways.”
But, according to a new report from The Economic Times, Simsim will stop taking new orders after March 31, and its team will be integrated into other areas of YouTube.
YouTube didn’t give specific reasons for why it’s shutting Simsim down, but we do know the company reportedly posted a loss of around $19 million for 2022.
Per TechCrunch, YouTube said that though Simsim is being shuttered, it’s still aiming to build “a seamless shopping experience for viewers and supporting creators’ businesses.”
A spokesperson said YouTube will be “working with creators to introduce more monetization opportunities for creators through an affiliate program and more shopping features across long-form videos, Shorts and livestreams on YouTube in 2023.”
YouTube has been experimenting with various ecommerce features for years, but based on that statement, it seems like this year could see a big push from the platform to get digital sales going.
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