YouTube viewers are about to encounter more product links within videos.
The platform has announced an expanded partnership with Shopify, the ecommerce brand that powers thousands of creator storefronts. The souped-up integration will let all U.S.-based Shopify Plus and Advanced merchants sign up for the YouTube Shopping affiliate program.
The enhanced agreement will open the door for any Shopify-partnered brand that wishes to sell its products directly on YouTube. The Shopify integration initially launched in 2022, just as YouTube was laying the groundwork for its in-feed shopping mall.
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Now, that partnership is getting bigger. In a blog post, YouTube claimed that creators will gain access to “thousands of new brands,” which they will be able to tag in their videos. The platform identified Popflex, the activewear brand led by YouTube fitness guru Cassey Ho, as one of those newcomers.
As YouTube Shopping grows and rolls out new features, it is competing with ecommerce operations on platforms like Instagram and TikTok. Instagrammers have benefitted from shoppable Reels, while TikTok Shop has amassed a U.S. merchant base of 500,000 sellers.
To keep pace with those rivals, YouTube is making its affiliate program easy to join and navigate. Shopify merchants who sell through the program will be able to check analytics through the Google Merchant Center. On the creator side, a new Chrome extension lets users tag products on external sites so that they can be pulled up later in YouTube Studio. The extension also tells creator how much they could make by promoting the tagged products in their videos.
YouTube is adding new ecommerce options to support the creators who are already profiting from social sales. A recent blog post highlighted a dozen creators who are using YouTube’s affiliate program to promote everything from household goods to the latest tech.
Based on the time of year, we can expect more YouTube Shopping updates in the coming months. The platform’s ecommerce hub is usually busy around the holiday season, so we’re banking on more gifts to arrive on creators’ proverbial doorsteps by the time December rolls around.
