Google Set to Turn YouTube into a Shopping Site

The world’s largest video platform is getting ready to capitalize on its highly engaged viewers. Earlier this week, Google announced that they plan to turn YouTube into a shopping platform. The platform stated that the goal is to turn YouTube’s videos into a catalog, allowing users to buy products directly from YouTube. This comes as an interesting pairing with their recent Shoploop release.

Recent updates to Facebook and Instagram offer increased shopping features, pushing YouTube to find a way to make up for its massive loss of advertising revenue from the travel and retail sectors. With video being the highest-converting media across all platforms, YouTube is set up perfectly to turn the platform into an advertising giant that competes directly with Amazon, driving additional sales for businesses. 

YouTube has been quietly watching from the sidelines as the pandemic has shifted the e-commerce landscape, as well as the nature of the content posted on its platform. Its partnership with Shopify last year opens up a realm of opportunity for businesses, and begins a race to create engaging content that resounds with your target audience. 

Key Takeaway:

As YouTube begins to add shopping functionality to its platform, it opens up endless opportunities for your business. If your business is utilizing Amazon and other platforms to drive additional sales, YouTube’s engagement and conversion rates should be enough to shift some of your focus to the platform’s new features when available.