MANILA, PHILIPPINES – There is something endearing about getting a personal recommendation. From the best gadgets within your budget to make-up essentials, there’s one place you turn to whenever you need that trusty review or real talk opinion: YouTube. And now, it is expanding to include your shopping cart into its ecosystem.
Launched in April this year, YouTube Shopping enables its audiences to shop tagged items on Shorts. In partnership with Shopee, the platform is leveraging its unique approach to reshape Filipinos’ online consumer behavior.
At the recent YouTube Accelerator event, Sapna Chadha, Vice President, Southeast Asia and South Asia Frontier at Google revealed that YouTube Shorts rack up billions of views every single day. In the Philippines, Shorts has already become an additional revenue stream for the creators who have signed up to be affiliates. As the trusted voices of their subscribers, these creators act as an active guide on the former’s decision-making.
“In a world full of noise, Filipino online users are 98% more likely to trust recommendations from a YouTube creator than any other social platforms,” Sapna said, citing an Ipsos survey.
She added that the variety and the types of content found on YouTube allow its users to really take a deep dive into longer forms: The ability to understand that depth is why we are the number one trusted platform.
This trust has gone beyond entertainment. Because of creators’ deep and meaningful connection with their audience, trust also plays heavily on the intent from being audiences to becoming consumers; imagine being able to shop directly from unboxing and haul videos, omitting one less step in checking out.
YouTube Shopping also challenges the linear consumer journey with organic product discovery. Instead of typing brand names in a search bar, consumers can come across these products naturally while watching their favorite YouTubers’ videos. And because audiences are already subscribed to their preferred creators, they will get suggestions that they actually want — integrating products into the content rather than disrupting it.
Empowering creators
Jack Ng, Head of Commercial, Shopee Philippines explained during his presentation on stage, “When you recommend a product from Shopee, the consumer who views your content trusts the platform and is ready to make the purchase.“
“As YouTube’s exclusive e-commerce partner, Shopee is committed to growing YouTube Shopping,” he added.
For its part, YouTube has already introduced new features for creators. Stickers on Shorts add an engaging, shoppable pop-up, while Timestamps allow for precise product tagging exactly when it’s showcased. A new Chrome Extension lets creators easily save and tag products from Shopee to use in their videos later.
Gaming creator Kristian PH shared how these features made it easy to jump start on YouTube Shopping, even applying them to his older videos because anybody can find it useful or interesting.
He emphasized how trust is paramount to building a 4-million-subscriber community within his 12-year YouTube journey. Because of his niche and his voice, he is treated by his audience as an older brother, often soliciting his advice on the products and gadgets he uses. To his luck, YouTube Shopping came in time to connect his product reviews with direct purchasing options.
“You have a clean interface, exact product tagging, you can avoid scams when it comes to third party links, and it’s easy to do.”
From this, Kristian diversified his content to fast-paced Q&As, first impressions, and behind-the-scenes Shorts. He added that what might not sell in the beginning ultimately adds to building trust because for him, it’s about giving his viewers more value than what they pay for.
This kind of growth is what YouTube is priming for its creators. “Our creator community has really made YouTube stand out. As we continue to invest in this space, we see an incredible future where Shopping on YouTube will unlock even more growth for creators, new creative formats, and deeper collaboration opportunities with brands,” Sapna shared.
Currently, one in every five creators is earning as affiliates, and over 550,000 products are tagged across more than 240,000 videos.
As a platform with a stronghold on community, culture, and now, commerce, YouTube is reshaping e-commerce as you know it. Before long, there will be a surge of #YouTubeMadeMeBuyIt as the next shiny tag on everyone’s product favorites.
