• The new feature will enable users to directly purchase products shown in videos through the platform.
• The video-sharing and streaming giant is looking to ride the e-commerce wave.

Google-owned American online video-sharing platform, YouTube, is reportedly experimenting with embedding shopping links in videos to help the viewers purchase products shown in the specific videos.

For the record, the platform currently uses links in the form of banners and cards to help creators connect with their audience and provide useful references through other YouTube videos, cited sources familiar with the subject.

A few viewers on YouTube reported that a shopping bag icon was spotted in the bottom left corner of the screen, which on tapping, displayed the list of items featured in the videos. In this context, only a few selected creators are a part of the pilot program to access this feature, sources claimed. The program is presently available for U.S. viewers on iOS, Android, and the Web.  

Google was quoted saying that the creators will be given control over the products to be featured in the videos. The new feature will also allow viewers to explore the website of each product to get additional detail, related video clips, and options for merchandise.

If released, the new feature will help influencers and creators have shopping links that are readily accessible, eliminating the need for using the description box under the video as a space for adding links that range from relevant references to shopping sites.

Meanwhile, Google has released updates to its web mapping service Google Maps, particularly for London, New York, Tokyo, and San Francisco. The company had previously announced to deploy improved street-level details that would provide the user with better information regarding a specific location such as pedestrian islands, medians, crosswalks, sidewalks, and parks.

Source Credit –

https://www.livemint.com/technology/tech-news/youtube-experimenting-with-shopping-links-within-videos-report-11610804929344.html