YouTube launched a Merch Store last year, enabling independent musicians to promote what they wanted to sell, be it music downloads, concert tickets or various merchandise, right from their channels. They could promote content from iTunes, SongKick, Google Play, Amazon and others.
YouTube announced today that it is expanding the feature to all partners and that it’s adding CafePress to the Store.
“The Merch Store sends customers from YouTube to the affiliate site, and the partner sees the same revenue whether they buy via the Merch Store or directly from the affiliate,” a spokesperson for YouTube tells WebProNews.
“CafePress and YouTube have a lot in common; YouTube has an hour of video uploaded every second about almost any topic imaginable, and CafePress has a catalog of over 300 million custom products on every subject imaginable,” says Joe Schmidt, CafePress Chief Marketing Officer. “Now, CafePress products are available on YouTube to create a relevant, contextual shopping platform.”
The feature will be rolling out to partners globally over the next several months. There will be a new tab on channels called “Store”. From there, partners can choose which merchandise to show fans.
Partners will need an account with each company to list products. When a user clicks on the product, they’ll be taken to the site where it’s being sold.
This could be a big deal for YouTube partners in generating some extra revenue, particularly now that YouTube is making its way into more living rooms via various connected TVs and devices, not to mention surging tablet and smartphone use.
Partners must be in “good standing” to use the feature, of course. Google talks about how to keep your account in good standing here.
You can see a YouTube store in action at the Geek & Sundry channel.