YouTube has announced the global launch of Shopping Product Stickers for Shorts, a new feature that allows creators to tag products directly within their short-form videos using clickable visual overlays. This move is designed to provide a more seamless shopping experience for viewers while offering new monetization opportunities for content creators.
Global Rollout Begins
The new feature began rolling out worldwide on June 17 and is expected to reach full availability within a week. While most regions are included in this initial phase, South Korea remains the only exception. YouTube has stated that support for the South Korean market will follow shortly, ensuring creators in that region will also benefit from the new shopping tool.
Improved Engagement Through Visual Integration
Initial testing conducted by YouTube in the United States showed that Shorts using the new product stickers received over 40 percent more clicks on tagged items compared to those using the older Shopping button. The feature aims to encourage more organic viewer interaction by making product recommendations more noticeable and visually integrated within the video.
How the Stickers Work
When a creator includes a tagged product in a Short, YouTube automatically generates a sticker linked to the first item. This sticker can be repositioned and resized within the mobile upload workflow, offering flexibility in how it appears on screen. If multiple products are tagged in the same Short, viewers can tap an arrow icon on the sticker to reveal the full product list and proceed to the retailer’s site to learn more or make a purchase.
Creator and Brand Benefits
By embedding commerce directly into Shorts, YouTube is expanding its role in the creator economy and social shopping space. The platform reports that the new feature is available to creators who are already part of its shopping program, eliminating the need for any additional setup. This ensures a frictionless adoption process for influencers, brands, and affiliate marketers looking to monetize through direct product engagement.
Shorts Ecosystem Continues to Grow
Speaking at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, YouTube CEO Neal Mohan shared that Shorts now generates over 200 billion views per day. He also confirmed that YouTube will be integrating Google’s latest generative video model, Veo 3, into the Shorts platform later this summer. The addition of Product Stickers is part of a broader strategy to harness the popularity of Shorts and transform it into a powerful commerce engine.
