YOUTUBE
research goal
Youtube's Creator Commerce team wanted to identify needs and opportunities to inform product design and strategy of a new product, the Channel Store.
research questions
1. Do Youtube creators want to sell merchandise through their channel?
2. How might Youtube creators want to customize their channel store?
3. What do creators need to be able to sell their merchandise directly through Youtube?
Early version of the Youtube channel store design
methods
• Literature review
• Competitive analysis
• Semi-moderated remote usability testing
• Focus groups
outcomes
The literature review allowed me to build on previous research that had already been done at Youtube, and reach out to the relevant teams who might be most interested in my findings.
The competitive analysis allowed me to understand the merchandising market, how that process works, and where Youtube might fit in. I created a visual journey of Creator's merchandising efforts to illustrate the various platforms and tasks required to sell merchandise.
I conducted semi-moderated usability testing using an early prototype of the channel store as a prompt for diverse creators from across the United States. I spoke to roughly 10 creators.
I also conducted a focus group with a smaller set of creators that are highly experienced, in order to build on my findings and validate them.
Finally, I synthesized my findings into a report (that unfortunately I am unable to share) that was presented to the broader product team and used to inform product development, including feature prioritisation, and strategy.