YouTube unveils shopping ecosystem data with 5,000 products analyzed

On October 16, 2025, the YouTube Culture & Trends team released a comprehensive report examining the platform's shopping ecosystem. The analysis studied the top 5,000 most-purchased products from the first half of 2025 and the top 1,000 videos by transaction on tagged products during a 60-day period in 2025.

The report, titled "YouTube Shopping: The Evolving World of Shopping on YouTube," explores how creators, communities, and content formats work together to drive purchases on the platform. The team conducted surveys with SmithGeiger, asking thousands of people about their interests and attitudes toward the internet. Respondents were active online users aged 14 to 49.

Creators emerge as trusted solution providers

Data from the SmithGeiger study reveals that 43% of 14- to 24-year-olds agree they feel more loyal toward brands they shop based on YouTube creator recommendations. The report identifies creators with specialties in diverse fields including fragrance, travel, and crochet appearing prominently in the list of the top 100 videos generating the most transactions.

Sara Jane, who operates the ChicOnTheCheap channel with 729,000 subscribers, exemplifies how creators convert viewers into customers. She focuses on sharing deals in lifestyle, home decor, and fashion, primarily from Walmart. Her dedicated audience relies on her expertise exhibited through comprehensive hauls of brand new, in-stock items for each holiday and season. A rapidly growing number of her followers now purchase items directly from the channel.

Horror game streamer CoryxKenshin, one of the most subscribed creators in the United States with 23.1 million subscribers, sold his self-published manga "Monsters We Make Vol. 1 & 2" via his YouTube channel. Volume 1 sold 200,000 copies across digital and physical sales in its first week, breaking United States records for manga sales. Many viewers made purchases despite being new to YouTube Shopping, driven by the creator's mission to address the lack of Black representation in mainstream manga.

Communities shape purchasing decisions

The report defines communities as groups of creators who share a common interest. Many of these communities, such as SneakerTube and BookTube, form around a shared passion for specific product categories. Members of these communities produce videos often focused on those products, effectively creating what the report calls a "cinematic universe" for products.

The analysis of the 1,000 top-transacted products surfaced items like yarns for crochet, filters for aquariums, and thermometers for grilling enthusiasts. These products reflect communities of creators shaping trends and purchasing decisions both online and offline.

The fragrance community serves as a key example. This global collective of creators passionate about scents provides expert guidance for a category where consumers heavily rely on trusted advice. Shoppers seek out these creators for in-depth counsel before committing to luxury purchases. A vast community of experts provides viewers with a variety of creators who can offer personalized guides addressing the many nuances of a purchaser's preference.

Fragrance creators describe the notes of scents in their videos, along with personal insights on how long the fragrance lasted, any skin reactions, and responses by others. Creators like Gents Scents (590,000 subscribers), Sharida M (67,500 subscribers), and TLTG appear among the top-transacted channels in that product category. Fragrances such as Armaf Ventana Marine and TUMI 19 Degree rank among the top-purchased items in the data.

The home improvement community represents one of YouTube's most established groups. Channels like DuctTapeMechanic (66,200 subscribers) and Robbie & Gary Gardening Easy (373,000 subscribers) exemplify how creators address specific challenges from DIY home renovations to appliance repairs. Ben's Appliances & Junk has earned over 81 million views since launching in 2019. Ben's channel provides expert guidance on appliance purchases and repairs, as well as sale recommendations and product reviews. By making it easy to buy the right parts from his videos, his channel converts expert instruction into sales.

Content formats drive discovery

The report analyzed the most common words used in titles of videos that generated the highest volume of sales transactions. Titles referencing specific brands, seasonality, and value appear among the biggest drivers.

In 2025, videos related to shopping with "haul" in the title accumulated 1 billion views. "Review" appeared in videos that gathered 650 million views, while "faves" accumulated 150 million views and "deal" generated 250 million views. Haul videos trace their origins to as early as 2007, initially popularized by pioneers in fashion, beauty, and lifestyle content.

The data reveals that the success of haul videos lies in their specificity. Titles that clearly indicate a particular store, season, style, or specific purpose resonate most deeply with viewers. Highly transacted formats such as "Buy or Bye" and "Faves or Fails" have gamified the time-tested review format. These formats are evolving further, reinterpreted through Shorts.

Wishlist and gift guide videos represent popular formats whose viewership naturally spikes around major annual sales such as Black Friday. Their success is fueled by their anticipation of viewers' specific needs. In wishlist videos, creators share items they want to buy or be given, often focusing on a single store's sale products. In gift guide videos, creators curate present ideas to help viewers find the perfect gift for any occasion.

While guides like "Best Gifts for Dads" maintain broad appeal, innovative creators have leaned into hyper-specific videos such as "8 Gifts for Your Figure Skater." Specificity aligns with common search behaviors, where users seek specific content rather than generic. Shoppers rely on the trusted ingenuity of their favorite creators when they are stumped in finding that perfect, inspired gift.

Product trends transform into cultural moments

The report found that 61% of 14- to 24-year-olds agree that YouTube has helped them discover brands or products they did not know about. The platform's transaction data highlights an interconnected ecosystem where the synergy between creators, communities, and compelling content transforms ordinary products into online sensations and significant cultural moments.

The recent surge in popularity of lip liner demonstrates this dynamic. Driven by audience demand for a natural, long-lasting pout, this once-overlooked product has become what the report describes as a game-changer for subtly reshaping lips. In 2025, interest in lip liner reached an all-time high, with the vibrant beauty community amplifying the trend with engaging videos.

Sarah Cheung's SACHEU Peel Off Lip Liner STAY-N emerged as a notable top product. Videos featuring "lip liner" in their titles have seen a twofold increase in uploads and views compared to the previous year. After her viral video demonstrating the use of eyebrow tint as a long-wearing lip liner, Cheung developed this unique peel-off formula to address market demand for transfer-proof lip products.

The product's popularity soared, further amplified by creators making content about the product and endorsements from celebrities. Billie Eilish featured the SACHEU liner in her "get ready with me" content, and Doja Cat reviewed it as her favorite everyday lip product weeks before releasing her new album including the song "Lipstain."

Findings reveal ecosystem dynamics

The report's findings demonstrate that shopping on YouTube operates as a dynamic, interconnected ecosystem of creators, communities, and content formats fueled by passion, expertise, and community engagement. These elements work together to influence purchasing habits and drive sales by fundamentally transforming product discovery into cultural moments online.

Future success in the YouTube shopping landscape belongs to those who understand that commerce is driven by collective purpose and authentic connection. Brands and creators must prioritize the development of content that is deeply expert, authentic, and hyper-specific to genuinely address the unique needs and passions of their communities, turning viewers into loyal customers and cultural participants.

The report identifies four key drivers of successful shopping trends. First, creators leverage their expertise and passion to become trusted sources, offering insights and solutions that address their viewers' needs. Second, communities representing groups of channels with shared interests in products or product categories see their collective output become a powerful driver of purchasing decisions.

Third, content formats like hauls and reviews help shoppers search for, learn about, and ultimately buy products. Fourth, the synergy of creators, communities, and content formats transforms real-world trending products into even more popular online phenomena.

Data from the SmithGeiger study conducted in the United States shows that 59% of Generation Z individuals aged 14 to 24 agree that their sense of personal style has been influenced by content they have seen online. The survey further indicates that 61% of 14- to 24-year-olds agree that YouTube has helped them discover brands and products they did not know about.

Marketing implications

The platform's development of shoppable features continues to evolve. YouTube announced the global rollout of Shopping Product Stickers for Shorts creators on June 17, 2025, replacing the traditional shopping button with a more prominent visual merchandising tool. Internal testing data demonstrated substantial performance improvements, with Shorts using Shopping Product Stickers seeing over 40% more clicks on products than Shorts with the shopping button during an experiment in May 2025 in the United States.

Product tagging functionality has undergone major updates to make the process faster and more convenient for creators. The introduction of bulk tagging allows creators to apply product tags to multiple videos simultaneously. YouTube Shopping automatically detects suggested products based on links already present in video descriptions.

The YouTube Partner Program has expanded to include 3 million channels, with 700,000 joining in just the last three years. The platform has paid $70 billion to creators, artists, and media companies over the past three years. YouTube Shopping enables creators to connect their own stores to their channels or tag products from other brands in videos, Shorts, and livestreams.

Creators can now add collaborators to videos, announced on August 1, 2025. Adding collaborators allows content to be recommended to each of the creators' audiences, fundamentally altering content distribution patterns by expanding reach beyond primary channel subscribers.

The data demonstrates how shopping content creation has matured into a sophisticated ecosystem where expertise, community engagement, and strategic content formatting combine to drive measurable transaction outcomes. The transparency of the transaction data provides unprecedented insight into the mechanics of social commerce on video platforms.

Timeline

• October 16, 2025 – YouTube Culture & Trends team releases shopping ecosystem report analyzing 5,000 top products
• First half of 2025 – Data collection period for most-purchased products analysis
• 60-day period in 2025 – Analysis window for top 1,000 videos by transaction volume
• April 2025 – SmithGeiger conducts YouTube Trends Survey with 500 online Generation Z respondents aged 14-24
• April 8, 2025 – CoryxKenshin's "Monsters We Make" manga sells 200,000 copies in first week
• June 17, 2025 – YouTube announces global rollout of Shopping Product Stickers for Shorts creators
• June 17, 2025 – Communities feature expands to all creators with access to Posts on YouTube
• August 1, 2025 – YouTube launches collaboration feature for creator partnerships
• September 10, 2025 – Google unveils Shoppable Masthead and other commerce-focused advertising formats at Think Week 2025
• October 6, 2025 – YouTube Activation Partners program launches with four initial partners

Summary

Who: The YouTube Culture & Trends team conducted the research, analyzing data from the platform's shopping ecosystem. SmithGeiger partnered with YouTube to survey thousands of online users aged 14 to 49. Creators including ChicOnTheCheap, CoryxKenshin, SACHEU, and members of communities like fragrance and home improvement drove transaction outcomes.

What: YouTube released a comprehensive report examining the shopping ecosystem on the platform. The research analyzed the top 5,000 most-purchased products from the first half of 2025 and the top 1,000 videos by transaction on tagged products during a 60-day period. The report identifies four key elements driving successful shopping trends: creators as solution providers, communities as collective influencers, content formats as discovery tools, and product trends as cultural phenomena.

When: The report was released on October 16, 2025. The data collection covered the first half of 2025 for product purchases and a 60-day period in 2025 for video transaction analysis. SmithGeiger conducted the accompanying survey in April 2025.

Where: The research focused on YouTube's global platform, with specific survey data collected from United States respondents. The report examined shopping behavior across various content types including long-form videos, Shorts, and livestreams. Communities span diverse categories from fragrance to home improvement, operating across international markets.

Why: The report provides the first comprehensive look behind the curtain at YouTube's shoppable era. The analysis reveals how creators, content, and communities converge to drive purchases on the platform. Understanding these dynamics helps explain how 59% of Generation Z individuals aged 14 to 24 have had their personal style influenced by online content and how 61% have discovered brands or products through YouTube. The research demonstrates that shopping on YouTube functions as an interconnected ecosystem where passion, expertise, and community engagement transform product discovery into cultural moments.