Is one of the biggest changes in recent times when it comes to Google products on the horizon? Namely, Google is in the early stages of turning YouTube into a shopping website. This would allow consumers to directly purchase items they see in videos hosted on this platform. It appears that the company is preparing to add general shopping functionality to the list of features offered by YouTube . The ultimate goal is for YouTube to become a shopping site.

YouTube is becoming a shopping site

Bloomberg reports that YouTube is asking creators to tag and track products featured in their videos, which will be linked to Google ‘s analytics and shopping tools. The ultimate goal is for Google to sell items directly through YouTube , rather than just advertising items from other sites. YouTube is already a shopping destination of sorts, with 55% of consumers using videos to make purchasing decisions.

A spokesperson for YouTube confirmed that the company is testing the new functionality on a larger number of channels, but declined to provide more details. The goal is to turn YouTube ‘s vast database of videos into a huge catalog of items that viewers can browse, click and buy directly. The company is also testing a new integration with Shopify Inc. for sale via YouTube .

Google Shopping and Youtube integration?

The implementation of this new feature will most likely be based on Google Shopping , which has been an integral part of search results for a long time. Google Shopping is a platform for advertising a large number of small and large stores, but it can be said that it has not quite achieved the dominance that was expected. Several large chain stores are missing from the list found on Google Shopping . The integration with YouTube (and the sales that would come with it) may encourage more stores to sign up for the service.

Until now, Google has mostly preferred to sell ads that send people to other websites, rather than selling products itself. However, the pandemic has drastically altered marketing budgets, especially in the travel and physical retail sectors that are major Google advertisers. Meanwhile, e-commerce has skyrocketed as people stay at home and increasingly order products online. Because of this, Google could only watch on the sidelines as its rivals such as Facebook and its app Instagram become the center of online shopping.

It is not clear how Google will make money from this new venture. They are supposed to earn a percentage of each transaction. Also, the amount of user data that Google is likely to collect is also valuable for advertising purposes. We believe that YouTube will find a solution that will benefit the creators, while at the same time not affecting the quality of the content.

In anticipation of the news that Google brings us, visit our blog and find more interesting topics in the field of digital marketing.