YouTube expands shopping features following digital ad slowdown

YouTube is bringing shopping features to its TikTok-like short-form video service, as it looks to diversify its revenue stream squeezed by falling ad spending, the Financial Times reported on Tuesday.

Ad sales on Alphabet-owned YouTube slipped to $7.07 billion in the third quarter from $7.2 billion a year earlier, as some advertisers pulled back on their ad spending in the face of an economic slowdown.

The streaming service is also testing new commission schemes for influencers who sell products through links in videos, the newspaper said.

The report comes months after YouTube unveiled a new way for creators to make money on short-form videos, introducing advertising on its video feature Shorts and giving video creators 45% of the revenue.

The internet's dominant video site has struggled to compete with TikTok, the app that got its start hosting lip-sync and dance videos and has subsequently burgeoned to 1 billion monthly users.