In this photo illustration the logo of Canadian e-commerce company Shopify Inc. is displayed on a smartphone.
Thomas Trutschel | Getty Images
YouTube announced on Tuesday that it’s partnering with e-commerce platform Shopify to let viewers purchase products without leaving its website.
Shares of Shopify were up about 2.5% on the news as of mid-morning.
It means, for example, that someone watching a video on YouTube might see a list of items on the page that a creator thinks they might be interested in. If you’re watching a video on a technology YouTube channel, you might see gadgets that you can buy right from the page using Shopify. Or you might see makeup products on a beauty channel. Creators can manage which products are included using the ‘Shopping’ tab in YouTube Studio.
The whole transaction occurs while someone is watching a video, which might help YouTube retain viewers who would have otherwise left the site to buy a product somewhere else. The company said it’s planning to expand shopping features to its Live, Shorts and long-form video, too.
YouTube said viewers in the U.S., Brazil and India will see products they can buy in the explore tab starting next week, with additional countries to roll out later this year.