Regional Director of YouTube APAC, Ajay Vidyasagar at the launch of the YouTube Shopping Affiliate Programme in Singapore. Photo: HWZ
Following the success of its Shopping Affiliate Program in Indonesia, Thailand, and Vietnam, YouTube is launching it in Singapore in partnership with Shopee, to give local content creators an additional alternative revenue stream.
According to Google's e-Conomy SEA 2024 report, Southeast Asia is one of the world's fastest-growing e-commerce markets with its e-commerce gross merchandise value (GMV) seeing a fourfold increase since 2022. GMV represents the total sales dollar value of goods sold through an e-commerce store or marketplace over a specific period. The report added that the Singapore creator economy is thriving, with an 18% increase in the number of video influencers focusing on retail categories in Singapore from 2022 to 2024
Ajay Vidyasagar, Managing Director for YouTube Southeast Asia and Emerging Markets said:
YouTube is uniquely positioned to bridge the gap between traditional e-commerce and the rapidly expanding video commerce ecosystem. Since last year, we have partnered with Shopee to launch YouTube Shopping to further fuel buoyant digital economies across Southeast Asia, and are now bringing this experience to Singapore, one of the biggest contributors to the thriving e-commerce in the region.
Consumers seem to trust their favourite content creators, with 62% of consumers having made a purchase after using YouTube to discover new brands, products or retailers.
How to enrol
Influencer Mongabong showing how the sales will work. Photo: YouTube.
To be eligible as a local content creator and to be able to monetise their influence by promoting products to their audience, the creator needs to ensure:
- Their channel is in the YouTube Partner Program.
- Their channel must have more than 10,000 subscribers.
- They are based in the United States, Korea, Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Singapore.
Once they’ve enrolled on YouTube Shopping, the content creator can tag products in existing and new videos, as well as pin them during live streams.
The full list of tagged products and information about each product is made available at a glance in the description section and ‘Product’ section of the video. Clicking on a product will lead viewers directly to an external sales page on Shopee for a seamless purchase, allowing viewers to start shopping while watching content from their favourite creators.
Local content creator Mongabong, who started her YouTube channel almost two decades ago, shared during the media briefing, “As a YouTube creator, it's incredibly rewarding to share the brands I genuinely love with my audience.”
Besides monetisation options, YouTube also provides content creators with tools to aid in customer engagement, like Ads Revenue, YouTube Premium Revenue, Channel Memberships, Super Thanks, Super Chat and Super Stickers.
Positive results so far
L to R: Head of Marketing at Shopee Singapore, Geraldine Ho, Director of Shopee Singapore, Chua Kel Jin, Regional Director of YouTube APAC, Ajay Vidyasagar, VP Consumer Products of Zenyum, Niclas Hildebrand, YouTube Creator Mongabong. Photo: HWZ.
Having run the YouTube Shopping affiliate program in Indonesia, Vietnam, Malaysia and Thailand for a while, Google says that the program has already started seeing results with categories such as Mobile & Gadgets, Home & Living, and Beauty leading the way in consumer popularity.
Shopee says that the average daily orders attributed to YouTube content in Indonesia for January of this year have grown more than sixfold compared to when the collaboration was first launched.
Chua Kel Jin, Director of Shopee Singapore, said:
This partnership with YouTube Shopping marks a pivotal step for Shopee brands and sellers, providing them with a powerful, convenient way to easily connect with creators and leverage their influence to accelerate sales. At the same time, this collaboration also opens up exciting new business opportunities for content creators, allowing them to monetise their creativity while promoting products that resonate with their audiences.
One of the biggest tech creators in Indonesia, Jagat Review, said that his earnings from the YouTube Shopping affiliate program made up 50% of his channel monetisation through the test period of July to October 2024.
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