YouTube has been relentlessly looking for more alleyways to give its live-stream shopping another push. For its latest promotional push, YouTube announced From YouTube to You as a range of new series of shopping streams, and other in-app shopping activations that would be hosted by some of the most prolific influencers and creators of the platform, ahead of the year’s biggest shopping season.
YouTube aims to be the one-stop-shop ahead of the holiday shopping season
“With the holiday season quickly approaching, more and more people are looking for a one-stop shop for their gifting. That’s why we’re excited to make the holidays easier than ever with From YouTube to You, a series of videos, livestreams and Shorts featuring your favourite creators, their curated gift recommendations, and exclusive product drops and deals to help get your shopping wrapped.”
Official statements as per YouTube
From YouTube to You activation will see some of the app’s most highly followed stars showcase various products and offerings over a broadcasting course of 10 days, to further promote the app’s live-stream shopping channels. YouTubers including MrBeast, Bethany Mota, and iJustine would be among the main stars leading the shopping activation, while YouTube will also be running Shorts Challenges to tie into the shopping event.
From YouTube to You will expose many more users to the potential of in-app buying, which could give YouTube’s commerce an ambitious big push as it works to maximize opportunities.
YouTube’s been trying to generate more interest in in-stream shopping as a means to generate more revenue in the app, while also providing additional monetization pathways for creators. Along this line, YouTube’s added product tags, ‘merch alerts’, and AR try-on videos, among various other elements tied into this shift.
Live-stream shopping, in particular, is the trend that YouTube really wants to maximize to its fullest potential.
YouTube, TikTok, and Instagram are all working to develop their own live-stream commerce elements, after seeing the process become a huge driver of in-app shopping activity in Asian markets.
Thus far, however, western audiences haven’t shown as much enthusiasm for buying products in-stream. But with billions of dollars on the line, you can bet that each platform is going to exhaust every opportunity to make live-stream shopping a thing, with YouTube and TikTok, in particular, pushing to make it a more significant trend.
This latest push from YouTube will undoubtedly give it a shove, with some of the app’s top stars likely to bring in huge audiences, exposing them to the possibilities of the process.
And if it takes off, that could provide a whole new range of considerations for retail brands in the app.
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