If a picture is worth a thousand words, what is a video worth?
According to the 2024 e-Conomy SEA report, video commerce now constitutes 20% of Southeast Asia’s (SEA) entire GMV, up from just 5% in 2022. And over 40% of SEA online shoppers rely on this multimedia format to make informed buying decisions.1
Brands looking to ride this growth opportunity will need to find the right video platform — one that is trusted by consumers and able to deliver returns.
A global Nielsen MMM meta analysis shows that YouTube drives 2.3X higher long-term return on ad spend than paid social.2 And according to a survey conducted by Kantar, 85% of viewers in Thailand agree that YouTube creator content is trustworthy, more than on other platforms (81%).3 As for Indonesia, 67% of users say they can trust the brands that YouTube creators / influencers talk about compared to 47% on Instagram and 50% on TikTok.4
To further unlock YouTube’s video commerce potential, brands can tap into the new YouTube Shopping feature. Its highly visible purchase links, which can be embedded in YouTube videos, Shorts, and livestreams, are featured alongside useful product information like the price.
For viewers who turn to YouTube creators to help them decide what to buy, the YouTube Shopping feature means they can now directly make a purchase via the shopping links. And the compressed timeframe to purchase means that creators, who earn a commission on the purchase of every product that’s tagged by them, have quicker access to revenue from a sale.
Unlock new reach and engagement opportunities
The products that brands add to their Google Merchant Center are automatically available for YouTube creators to tag via an affiliate programme, run in partnership with e-commerce platforms like Shopee.
The YouTube Shopping feature also makes it possible for brands to connect their partnership ads with creator content that has a direct link to purchase, thereby shortening the customer journey from discovery to sale. Previously, partnership ads were simply used by brands to incorporate YouTube creator videos into their ad campaigns; it had no direct link to purchase.
With YouTube Shopping, brands can also use the creator’s assets, across long and short video formats, to run Demand Gen campaigns with product feeds. This lets brands expand their reach to new customers across YouTube’s most immersive and visual touchpoints.
Write the next wave of video commerce
Since its launch in SEA last year, the YouTube Shopping affiliate programme has received tremendous interest from thousands of creators.
L'Oréal was among the first to tap into this programme when it expanded to Thailand in late-2024. After experiencing strong brand lift through partnerships with YouTube creators, the group saw this as the next step to maximise results.
By combining its Demand Gen campaign with the YouTube Shopping affiliate programme, L'Oréal Thailand was able to deliver more than 10X paid views versus creator views, and at 2X better cost-per-visit compared to its other campaigns.
With such positive early signs and momentum, brands can expect YouTube Shopping to expand to other markets in SEA — beyond Indonesia, Thailand, and Vietnam — this year. Improvements are also underway to make the YouTube Shopping purchase experience seamless. And a new Best of YouTube Shopping category is on the cards for YouTube Works Awards SEA.
Video commerce is writing the future of shopping in SEA, and brands looking to ride this growth can tap into YouTube Shopping to convert viewers into customers.
