YouTube’s live social commerce app, Simsim, will be shutting shop permanently, according to a report in TechCrunch. The platform will not be taking any orders after March 31, 2023, as per a report in Afaqs. The streaming platform said that it will focus its efforts on introducing shopping features across long-form videos, shorts, and livestream in 2023, The Economic Times reported, adding that Simsim’s team will be absorbed into YouTube. What is Simsim: It is a platform where creators post video reviews about products from local businesses, and customers can buy those products directly through the app. The videos were available in three local languages— Hindi, Tamil and Bengali. Why it matters: The announcement is a sobering reminder of the challenging macroeconomic environment in which tech companies are operating today, forcing them to cut costs to drive profitability. YouTube’s decision to pull the plug on Simsim also suggests that live commerce may not be as lucrative as it was two years ago at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. Why did YouTube acquire Simsim: The start-up was acquired by YouTube in July, 2021, because it found that video was becoming an important medium through which users discovered products, and bought them with the help of experts. The company did not disclose the sum of Simsim’s acquisition then but TechCrunch reported that it may be around $70 million. The company clarified then that it made no immediate changes to simsim, and let the app operate independently. It was expected that simsim…
