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How to sell products on Youtube with Shopify
2 minute read28 Sep 2022
In July 2022 Shopify and Youtube teamed up to announce a new collaboration between the two software powerhouses. The world’s leading e-commerce platform and its largest video sharing site have come together to offer content creators a new avenue of opportunity.
And with 2.1 billion Youtube users every month, the only question is why didn’t this collaboration take place sooner? Content creators use Youtube every single day to upload product videos and host live stream events advertising products, collectively generating billions of views. Giving their viewers the chance to reach the checkout straight away, without leaving the page, seems as close to a conversion guarantee as it’s possible to get.
Here we’ll look at the collab more closely and explain exactly how you can sell products through your Youtube account via Shopify.
How does it work?
From a technical point of view the Shopify x Youtube integration is pretty simple, but there are some caveats:
- Only Youtube accounts with 1000 subscribers or more are currently eligible for a Shopify integration. We have a feeling this may change in the future, but don’t hold us to that.
- Your account must be based in a country on Youtube’s Partner Program list. The list is extensive but it’s worth checking.
If you meet these base criteria you’re ready to connect your Youtube account with your Shopify store. With the integration in place you can do the following:
- Livestreams: Tag and pin products at specific moments during your livestream.
- Videos: Display a curated list of products in a product shelf below your in-demand videos.
- Profile page: Add a new tab to your Youtube channel profile which features your entire product selection.
For stores outside the U.S, Youtube product placements will currently lead viewers away from Youtube to another tab for checkout. However for U.S stores, viewers can checkout directly in Shopify without leaving the page. If buying during a livestream or video, viewers can even continue to watch videos via picture-in-picture playback.
Again, we expect this feature to roll out beyond the U.S and to the rest of the world before long. There’s no guarantee of course but it just makes sense. It’s well documented that the fewest clicks leads to the highest conversion, so presenting checkouts to customers with the least steps and barriers is good for merchants, Youtube and Shopify alike.
The big benefit currently available to all eligible Youtube accounts worldwide is Shopify’s real time inventory syncing. Once you link your Youtube account to your Shopify store, you can be certain that the products on display to your customers are available and in stock. There’s nothing worse than promising products to customers that are currently out of stock and this simple feature makes a big difference in building customer trust and aiding sales.
How to connect your Shopify store to YouTube
To connect your Shopify store to your Youtube account, follow these simple steps:
- Sign in to Youtube Studio.
- Select Monetization from the menu on the left of your screen.
- You’ll see the Shopping Tab if your channel is eligible for the integration.
- In the Shopping Tab select Get Started. (Note: this only appears if you haven’t already connected Youtube with a shopping retailer).
- Follow the on-screen instructions to link your Shopify store to you Youtube channel.
- Turn on Shopping features.
Our analysis
This collaboration makes perfect sense and is a certainty to become an instant hit. In a world where selling via Instagram Live and monetising TikTok videos are increasingly frequent, the world’s largest video platform was always going to get in on the act.
For content creators, the new Shopify possibilities are potentially very lucrative. Discussing a product in a livestream, whilst presenting it to viewers and giving them a checkout right there and then, without asking them to visit another page, is a massive game changer.
Since its inception Shopify has always pushed to break down barriers leading to the checkout. The Youtube collab is another way to smooth the buyer’s journey and make the final purchase as easy as possible.
It’s also a brilliant way to build close, long-lasting relationships with consumers. Creators can read and answer questions in real time, building natural and organic relationships with their communities. This is an excellent way to forge long lasting relationships with customers, building digital spaces where they receive the same experience of being in a store without leaving home.
We predict more feature rollouts in the future as technology continues to improve. In the future mobile shopping will be almost totally video-based, as customers look for more detailed information on their desired products.
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