Starting today, YouTube is launching a new way for you to connect with your favorite creators. This week, the YouTube Holiday Stream and Shop will feature creators including The Merrell Twins, Simply Nailogical, Donut Media, Gordon Ramsay, Patrick Starrr, Jackie Aina, Manny MUA, and MrBeast hosting shoppable livestreams — featuring exclusive access to new products, exciting giveaways, exclusive discounts, and more. We’re also introducing YouTube.com/Shopping as a temporary destination for these livestreams.
We sat down with our shopping team to discuss some of the considerations for building live shopping and what viewers can expect.
Q: Why did YouTube decide to jump into live shopping?
Wendy Yang, Product Designer, YouTube Shopping: Live shopping is an area we’re really excited about and is a huge opportunity. The exciting thing about live shopping, and shopping generally, is that we’re already seeing it happen on YouTube — with creators revealing a product line, dropping new merch, or discussing their latest shopping haul. People want to shop on YouTube and, according to a study we ran in partnership with Publicis and TalkShoppe, 89% of viewers agree that YouTube creators give recommendations they can trust. We can make it easier to shop by integrating it directly into YouTube, removing steps in this process, and making the entire shopping experience fun and interactive for our users.
Q: What are the challenges with building a live shopping experience on YouTube?
Lax Poojary, Product Manager, YouTube Shopping: When we set out to build a live shopping experience on YouTube, we wanted to let viewers discover new and relevant products through the guidance of their trusted creators. We wanted to build features that allow for interactive and immersive exchanges between viewers and creators, so that the buying experience is engaging and fun. But we also needed the experience to allow for shopping while making sure that the livestream is uninterrupted.
Wendy: We built the shopping features so that you can easily learn about products in the video or discover new products that you might love. In our research, we found that 87% of people say they get the highest quality information about products when shopping or browsing on YouTube. If you want to buy, you can make purchases using onsite check out or at retailers' sites. That means the video stream is uninterrupted, so that you never miss a moment.