Credit: YouTube Blog
According to the announcement, creators who link their stores can display their products across their channel and benefit from Shopify’s real-time inventory syncing so that viewers are never disappointed to find a product out of stock.
Since its founding in February 2005, YouTube has gathered billions of users to the platform to discover and share videos. It has also become a platform for brands, creators and users to connect with each other – whether it be through entertainment, popular “how to” videos or product reviews.
“Many creators have stores with Shopify, but lack the sophistication to set up Google Merchant Center and/or jump through more technical hoops. These creators also do not typically run Shopping or Video Action ads. For brands and retailers that are looking to complement their video with compelling product imagery, we recommend running Video Action Campaigns with Feed.”
Ready, Set, Shop on YouTube
According to Courtney O’Donnell, Senior Director, Shoppable Media at Tinuiti this setup bypasses the Google Merchant Center and connects Shopify directly with YouTube.
“We also know that creators spend a lot of time building a business and developing their products, so we want to make it even easier for them to connect and manage their stores on YouTube and bring their products directly to their audience”, Katz says.
In an effort to promote a seamless shopping experience, creators in the US can manually turn on the onsite checkout so that viewers can complete their purchases without leaving YouTube.
How Does YouTube’s Integration With Shopify Impact Google Merchant Center?
This integration showcases that YouTube sees and understands the value of Influencers and that they realize these voices can help drive sales.
“The seamless integration with Shopify should only increase the number of conversions we’re seeing as the transition from consideration and information gathering to purchase is so simple – this is very attractive to brands and marketers that work with YouTubers,” Crystal Duncan, Senior Vice President, Head of Partnership Marketing at Tinuiti says.
Credit: YouTube Blog
“Google continues to focus on making YouTube more of a shopping destination. They want to make it easier for merchants to sell their products. As a result, this update is geared more towards creators, less towards the brands and retailers that we work with,” O’Donnell says.
How Does YouTube’s Integration With Shopify Impact Influencers?
YouTube recently announced several new shopping features through their latest integration with Shopify. The partnership will allow eligible creators to link their Shopify store to their YouTube channel, enabling shoppers to complete purchases without having to leave YouTube’s platform.
“On the flip side, this also gives Influencers and Creators another revenue source – this opportunity empowers them to build content relevant to their followers and work with brands that they think their audience would be interested in. It gives more control and power to the Influencers to build their businesses as they see fit.”
We spoke with our industry experts at Tinuiti to get their take on the latest integration, what this means for advertisers, and how brands can get started today.
According to a blog post from YouTube’s Vice President of Shopping Product David Katz:
