PYMNTS-MonitorEdge-May-2024

Shopify Teams With YouTube for Shopping Features

Shopify, YouTube, livestream shopping

Shopify and YouTube are teaming up to offer new shopping functions that will enable creators and merchants to feature products for sale via livestreams, videos and a store tab.

Creators and merchants can integrate their Shopify stores with YouTube Shopping and reach more than 2 billion monthly logged-in users, according to a press release Tuesday (July 19).

“Commerce today is multichannel, and YouTube is one of the most influential channels on the planet,” said Kaz Nejatian, vice president of product at Shopify. “Shopify’s new YouTube integration will fundamentally change what opportunity looks like for independent brands in the creator economy.” 

Nejatian noted the move adds to the company’s long-term partnership with Google as Shopify now aims to “push the boundaries of D2C commerce on YouTube.” 

Twitter also recently partnered with Shopify to allow merchants to display and automatically update their profiles with as many as 50 products for sale, PYMNTS reported in June. The collaboration aims to make it easier for people to make purchases while scrolling through the social media platform. 

See also: Twitter Allows Shopify Merchants to Sell up to 50 Items

While many brands are focusing on connecting with their audience, livestreams on YouTube Shopping give merchants the ability to tag and pin products at key points during the broadcast, offering picture-in-picture playback while shoppers check out, per the release.

With on-demand video, YouTube Shopping enables merchants to show a curated list of products on a “product shelf” below the video. The store tab is also added to the merchant’s YouTube channel, showcasing the merchandise.

“Bringing my commerce platform and my most popular viewer engagement platform together will be a game changer for me,” Christen Dominique, YouTuber and CEO of Dominique Cosmetics, said in the release.

“As an entrepreneur finding new ways to build my business, it’s so important that I show up where my customers are shopping, and more and more that’s on YouTube,” Dominique continued. “With the Shopify and YouTube integration, I can share new products from Dominique Cosmetics directly on my videos and lives, and make it easy for viewers to purchase as they watch.”