YouTube, the largest video site in the world, is testing a new feature that will allow its users to purchase products they see in the video. This is the biggest change that the video-sharing platform could be witnessing since its inception. According to reports, YouTube has been asking creators on its platform to tag and track products that are featured in videos created by them. The data collected will be then linked to the shopping tools from Google along with analytics. The concept is to convert a large number of YouTube videos into a canvas of a catalog of items that viewers can inspect and directly buy from the platform. A spokesperson of the company has confirmed that development saying that we are testing these features with a limited number of videos. However, he emphasized that this is still in the experimental phase.
This initiative provides YouTube creators control over the items that will be displayed on the video. YouTube is also testing integration with Shopify Inc. to sell products through it platform. But it is yet not clear that what percentage of a cut YouTube would keep with it from such sales. However, the platform has started offering subscriptions for a video creator and takes a cut of 30 percent from payments. But there are very few chances that such a high cut will work for product sales.
There are many creators on the YouTube platform that are already making money from affiliate links at virtually no cost to them. The concept of direct sales on the video-sharing platform must have to offer major benefits to creators so that they decide to switch. By when this feature will be rolled is something only time will tell. But on this is for sure that users could get a totally new look and feel of YouTube in a couple of years from now. This will be a drift from a regular practice of Alphabet Inc.’s Google which has so been sending people to other digital stores through ads rather than options for selling those products itself.