Google aims to transform the YouTube video-sharing platform into a major shopping destination to rival US Amazon and China's Alibaba.
Bloomberg reported that the platform is testing features that allow viewers to purchase products directly from videos, while some content creators are testing tools via YouTube that allow them to tag products shown in the videos.
The data from the videos can then be tracked to see how these products are performing, linked to Google analytics and shopping tools.
With the tools in place, viewers will be able to click on and purchase products that appear in the videos there.
A YouTube spokesperson confirmed that the company is testing these features with a limited number of video channels, and the spokesperson said that the content makers will control the products offered, and the company described this as an experiment, without sharing further details.
In addition to its own tools, Google is reportedly testing ways to integrate Shopify - an integrated online store provider - into its platform.
It appears that YouTube tested the "Shopify" integration last year, allowing some content makers to list as many as 12 items for sale on a digital platform under their videos.
It is not clear how YouTube plans to profit from direct sales, and it appears that content creators will receive a percentage of any sale made through the new initiative, allowing them to diversify revenue other than advertising.
The initiative turns the platform into a major shopping destination, a space that YouTube is underutilizing.
It appears that YouTube has considered turning the platform into a major shopping destination for a while, but has not been able to implement it in the correct way.
Bloomberg says that declining marketing budgets and increasing interest in e-commerce have made the initiative a priority in light of this pandemic.
YouTube is a business with revenues of $ 15 billion annually, so opening it to e-commerce would raise this number to new heights.
The platform is full of creators and content makers who promote products through affiliate links, and it seems that viewers may very soon be able to purchase products directly from the platform, and get rid of the middleman - Amazon - completely.