YouTube and Shopee team up to take on TikTok in Southeast Asia
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SINGAPORE: In a digital spiral that could restyle online shopping in Southeast Asia, YouTube and Shopee are merging efforts and aligning strategies so content creators can turn clicks into cash, and possibly, unseat TikTok in the thriving world of video commerce.
According to a recent Retail Asia report, the new YouTube Shopping Affiliate Program has of late been live in Singapore, along with Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, and Vietnam. The move allows creators to include Shopee products in their videos, Shorts, and livestreams, earning royalties and commissions for every sale they push. For Southeast Asia's tech and video-smart consumers and creators alike, it's a calculated step that brings business and content closer than ever.
'Creators can now showcase their merch or highlight products from other brands in their content,' said Ajay Vidyasagar, YouTube's Managing Director for Southeast Asia and Emerging Markets.
And the timing couldn't be better.
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Southeast Asia: The epicentre of video commerce
Over 40% of online buyers in the region have turned to videos to explore products. According to Chua Kel Jin, Director at Shopee Singapore, 62% of audiences say they're encouraged to buy on e-commerce platforms after seeing YouTube videos. That's an influential change, something that both platforms are now sprinting to take advantage of.
'This partnership gives sellers access to new customers through trusted creators, while providing a seamless buying experience via Shopee's infrastructure,' Chua clarified.
From beauty lessons, tech appraisals, to cooking lectures and personal finance talks, content is no longer there to entertain; it's now the easiest way to check out.
Win-win for sellers and creators
Unlike before, brands had to pay huge one-time fees just to team up with influencers. With the new affiliate model, they only pay commissions for actual sales, making the ROI tracking more convenient and more attractive to startups and small businesses.
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Shopee's Affiliate Marketing Solution also assists not just big businesses but also the smallest sellers in connecting with creators, creating equal opportunities for everyone in a progressively jam-packed marketplace.
Product groupings like fashion, electronics, beauty, and home & wellness are already building steam. Tutorials build confidence and trust, fashion sittings capture the fashion-forward crowd, and video demonstrations help purchasers make informed choices.
YouTube's creator ecosystem – trusted and growing
As of December 2024, 170 YouTube networks in Singapore had more than a million contributors and viewers, while 1,300 channels boasted over 100,000. Even more significantly, the number of creators making five-digit monthly revenues in Singapore dollars soared by 20% year over year.
'Creators are no longer just entertainers — they're trusted advisors,' Vidyasagar stressed. 'People come to them not just for fun, but for discovery and even decision-making.'
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A serious challenger to TikTok Shop
For quite a while now, TikTok has reigned over the video shopping scene in Southeast Asia, but YouTube and Shopee's collaboration may swing the equilibrium.
Shopee Live's metrics are reassuring:
Regular unique live streamers increased to over 50% in Q3 2024
Livestream shoppers increased by 15% from the preceding quarter
Gross merchandise value (GMV) from Shopee Live surged 3.5x year-over-year
In Indonesia alone, Shopee saw YouTube-credited orders grow six times just a few months after its launch. In Singapore, home and living brand Homey now drives more than half of its sales via Shopee Live.
A new era of content-driven commerce
As retail goes social and shopping becomes more absorbing and all-encompassing, the Shopee–YouTube alliance doesn't look like just an experiment but more like a foretaste of the future of commerce.
'This collaboration brings together the strengths of both platforms,' said Chua. 'It's about unlocking new value through engaging, trusted, and seamless content-led shopping.'
For creators, it's an additional revenue stream. For buyers, a more comfortable way to find new products and explore them. And for TikTok? It might just mean a demanding encounter from a Silicon Valley contender and Southeast Asia's preferred e-commerce app.
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