You can now shop on YouTube with this Shopee partnership

Video sharing platform YouTube and eCommerce giant Shopee are partnering up to launch "YouTube Shopping".

First launched in Indonesia, the program will soon roll out to other SEA markets starting with Thailand and Vietnam in the coming weeks. 

YouTube Sharing is a program which provides a shopping experience for viewers, while allowing creators to increase their source of income on YouTube. Via the new program, viewers can easily start shopping while watching content from their favourite creators.

"We've seen how creators in Indonesia are finding and connecting with their audiences, both in Indonesia and around the world, and we look forward to further empowering the creator community with these more diverse monetisation opportunities and options, while driving the growth of the digital economy in Indonesia," said Ajay Vidyasagar, regional director of APAC, YouTube. 

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"We're excited to see how Indonesian creators are using this feature to engage with their fans, showcase new products, and generate additional revenue. We will continue to be committed to improving the shopping experience on our platform, as well as continuing to contribute to the development of Indonesia's digital economy," added Vidyasagar. 

With YouTube Shopping, the full list of tagged products and product information will be made available in the description and 'products' section of the video. Following which, viewers can click on a product they like and be immediately redirected to an external sales page for a quick and easy purchase. Creators also have the flexibility to tag products, both on existing and new videos, and embed them during live streams.

By integrating shopping features directly into the content, YouTube Shopping provides an opportunity for creators to not only increase engagement with viewers, but also strengthen relationships.

"Shopee is delighted to be working with YouTube on an innovative program that helps sellers on our platform to connect with more potential buyers through engaging content created by YouTube creators," explained Monica Vionna, senior director of marketing growth, Shopee Indonesia. "We've also seen how engaging content can help increase sales of MSMEs and local brands on our platform, through interactive features such as Shopee Live and Shopee Video. We are confident that partnering with YouTube will support sellers; including local products and MSMEs on our platform to be able to grow further."

The YouTube Shopping program complements existing monetisation options such as ad revenue, YouTube Premium revenue, channel memberships, 'super thanks', 'super chat', and 'super stickers', providing creators more options to earn and grow their channels on the platform. Eligible creators can now sign up to join the program. 

"YouTube has become a unique platform that connects viewers, brands, and creators, and offers unlimited sources of inspiration. The program strengthens these relationships, giving creators a new way to earn and add value to their communities. YouTube Shopping makes it easy for fans to shop for recommendations from their favourite creators, while also providing an opportunity for brands to work with trusted content creators to promote their products," said Travis Katz, general manager and vice president of shopping, YouTube.

"We are excited to bring it to Indonesia, by starting a partnership with Shopee, following the successful launch in the United States and Korea, and we are confident that Indonesia creators will use this feature creatively in their shopping content, and we look forward to seeing the positive impact it has on the creator community and the online shopping ecosystem in Indonesia," added Katz. 

Meanwhile, earlier in August, Meta and Google reportedly made a secret deal to target 13 to 17-year-olds with Instagram ads on YouTube, breaking the search giant's rules against advertising to children, according to the Financial Times. 

According to Financial Times, the Instagram campaign "deliberately targeted a group of users labelled as 'unknown' in its advertising system".

It added that Google knew 'unknown' skewed towards under-18s and that documents seen by the publication suggested that "steps were taken to ensure the true intent of the campaign was disguised." 

Checks by MARKETING-INTERACTIVE on Google Ads' help page revealed that the "unknown" demographic category refers to people whose age, gender, parental status or household income are identified and can allow advertisers to reach a "significantly wider audience" when selected. 

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