Discover the optimal eCommerce YouTube video length to maximize views and engagement. Our 2025 study of 49,000+ videos from top eCommerce brands revealed surprising insights. Leverage the insights and statistics to create YouTube videos that resonate with your audience and drive sales.
YouTube has become a powerful platform for eCommerce businesses to connect with customers and drive sales.
However, creating effective YouTube videos that resonate with your audience and achieve your marketing goals can be challenging. One crucial factor to consider is the length of your videos.
To make it easier for eCommerce marketers. Adilo, a top-rated online video hosting platform, researched to determine the optimal length for eCommerce YouTube videos to get more views and engagement.
Our team analyzed over 49,000 videos from top eCommerce brands that make between $1 million and $100 billion. We found 11 surprising insights that’ll help you create YouTube videos for your eCommerce that will resonate with your audience and drive sales.
What did we find? Continue reading.
Table of Content
Table of Contents
Key Takeaways
- The average engagement rate for eCommerce YouTube videos is only 0.02%.
- eCommerce YouTube videos are 4 – 5 minutes long, on average.
- eCommerce YouTube video length and engagement rate show a very weak positive correlation.
- There is a very weak positive correlation between eComm YouTube video length and video views.
- The optimal eCommerce YouTube video length for getting the most views is 91 – 120 seconds.
- eCommerce YouTube videos that’re longer than 7 minutes have the best average engagement rate.
- Making eCommerce YouTube videos one second longer can reduce potential video views by 123.
- eCommerce YouTube videos that are 3 – 4 minutes long are ideal for maximizing both engagement rate and video views.
- Over 96% of eCommerce brands are missing the mark on the ideal video length.
- Just 7 – 8 in every 1,000 subscribers typically engage eCommerce YouTube videos.
- Subscriber engagement rate falls as eCommerce YouTube channels gain more subscribers.
- eCommerce YouTube channels with over 500,000 subscribers get 4.6 times more video views than channels with fewer subscribers.
Data We Collected and How We Analyzed Them
To uncover the optimal eCommerce YouTube video length, we studied 70 top eCommerce brands, analyzing:
- 49,232 YouTube videos
- Over 9.9 billion YouTube video views, and
- 21.8 million YouTube subscribers.
These eCommerce brands cut across different categories, including clothing, health, skincare, sports, fitness, and online marketplace. And with revenue between $1 million and $100 billion.
To calculate the video engagement rate, we sum the total likes, shares, and comments a video got and divide the sum by the total video views. For subscriber engagement, we divided the sum of the engagement by the total channel subscribers.
To establish a true relationship between the variables and eliminate data noise, we grouped the eCommerce YouTube video lengths into three segments and ten categories.
The Adilo research team employed measures of central tendency, dispersion, correlation, and regression analysis to figure out the relationship between eCommerce YouTube video length, how many views and engagement they get, and the relationship between them.
We made some charts and posters to visualize what we found so it’s easier to understand.
The Results: What We Found
After nearly a month of digging into our data, here are eleven key eCommerce YouTube video statistics to power your video marketing:
1. The average eCommerce YouTube engagement rate is 0.02%
YouTube videos get around 2% engagement on average, according to InsightIQ.
While the number might be true for ALL industries. But we believe it might be a bit high and even too ambitious for the eCommerce industry.
Our study found that the average engagement rate for eCommerce YouTube videos is around 0.02%. That’s about 2 engagements for every 1,000 views.
2. The average eCommerce YouTube video length is 4 – 5 minutes
The study showed that most YouTube videos made by eCommerce brands are about 288 seconds long, which is around four to five minutes.
That’s way shorter than the average YouTube video, which clocks in at 11.7 minutes, according to 2018 Statista research.
Gamers are making the longest videos, at around 25 minutes, while film and animation and entertainment videos trail behind at 19.2 and 12.9 minutes, respectively.
Statista | Average YouTube Video Length As of December 2018, By Category (In Minutes)
This revelation shows that eCommerce businesses are creating shorter videos than other industries.
We also found that eCommerce YouTube videos that are 30 seconds or shorter are around 22 seconds long, on average, while the video length of those between 31 and 60 seconds averages 47 seconds long.
We’ve put together a table summarizing the average video lengths for the ten eCommerce YouTube video length categories we looked at.
3. Longer eCommerce YouTube videos deliver better engagement rates
We thought longer videos would mean less engagement, but our research showed something different.
Our study found that longer videos had a higher engagement rate. So the more time people spend watching an eCommerce YouTube video, the more likely they are to interact with the video.
However, the relationship between eCommerce YouTube video length and engagement rate isn’t strong. The study found only a slight increase in engagement as videos got longer, and this is barely noticeable.
4. Shorter eCommerce YouTube videos lead to better video views
We found that the length of an eCommerce YouTube video and the number of views it gets are negatively correlated. This means that shorter videos tend to get more views.
But, just like with video length vs engagement rate, this relationship isn’t very strong. So, making a video shorter will only result in a small increase in the number of views it gets.
5. The ideal eCommerce YouTube video length to maximize views is between 90 and 120 seconds
Generally, shorter eCommerce YouTube videos perform well.
But the ideal video length for getting the most views is between 1:30 and 2 minutes. Aim for that sweet spot if you want your video to get seen by the most people.
Videos that are 3 to 4 minutes long perform better than those that are 30 seconds or shorter. But, when eCommerce YouTube videos go beyond 4 minutes, they don’t tend to perform well.
6. The optimal eCommerce YouTube video length to maximize engagement is over 420 seconds
If you want your eCommerce YouTube videos to get more engagement, make them longer than 7 minutes. The best length to get people to interact with your videos is 421+ seconds.
The average length for eCommerce videos that are over 7 minutes is 1,237 seconds (21 minutes).
eCommerce YouTube videos that are between 5 and 6 minutes get the second-best engagement. The next best are those between 3 and 4 minutes. For videos that are less than 2 minutes, aim for 30 seconds or shorter to get the most engagement.
Videos that are 6 to 7 minutes long have the lowest average engagement rate.
7. If you make your eCommerce YouTube video 1 second longer, you’ll lose around 123 views
After we found a negative correlation between eCommerce YouTube video length and video views, we wanted to know how much a 1-second change in video length really affects views.
Turns out, it doesn’t matter that much.
From the study, we found that if you make your video 1 second longer, you might lose about 123 views. Make it 1 second shorter, and you might gain about 123 views.
That’s not a big deal considering that the average eCommerce YouTube video gets between 200,000 and 300,000 views. And shorter videos get up to 300,000 to 350,000 views.
This just confirms what we saw in our correlation analysis: there’s a weak positive correlation between eCommerce YouTube video length and views; changing the video length a little bit doesn’t make a noticeable difference in views.
8. The optimal eCommerce YouTube video length is 3 – 4 minutes
If you’re concerned about maximizing your eCommerce YouTube video views and engagement rate, then make your videos 3 to 4 minutes long.
The study found that eCommerce YouTube video length between 181 to 240 seconds generates the second highest view behind videos that’s between 1.30 and 2 minutes. It also has the third-best engagement rate, trailing videos that are 4 to 5 minutes long (second position) and 421+ long videos (first position).
For context, the most-engaged eCommerce YouTube video length (421+ seconds), on average, generates the sixth-best video views. While eCommerce YouTube videos with the best views (91 – 120 second-long videos) get the eighth-best engagement rate.
Also, eCommerce YouTube videos between 1.30 and 2 minutes are ideal for maximizing engagement rate and video views, followed by 1 to 30 second videos.
9. Most eCommerce brands prefer YouTube videos of less than 30 seconds long
While the average eCommerce YouTube video is 4 to 5 minutes long, most eCommerce brands are creating videos under 30 seconds.
The study showed that about 30.5% of eCommerce YouTube videos are between 1 and 30 seconds. Unfortunately, that’s over 150 seconds shorter than the optimal length for eCommerce YouTube videos—181 to 240 seconds.
It’s wild that only 3.8% of eCommerce YouTube videos are within the optimal length range. That means a whopping 96.2% of them are missing the mark and losing out on potential sales.
Here’s a quick summary of our findings.
10. Subscriber engagement rate for eCommerce YouTube videos is 0.72%
eCommerce YouTube channels usually get 7 to 8 video engagements per 1,000 subscribers. The average subscriber engagement rate for eCommerce YouTube videos is only 0.72%, according to our research.
Surprisingly, we found a weak (not very weak) negative correlation between the number of subscribers on eCommerce YouTube channels and subscriber engagement rate. This means that the more subscribers you have, the lower the engagement rate. We thought it’d be the other way around, but nope.
The good news is that more subscribers still means more video views overall.
The study found a strong positive correlation between the number of subscribers and total video views. So, the more subscribers you have, the more video views you can expect.
11. eCommerce YouTube channels with more than 500,000 subscribers get almost 5 times more views than channels with fewer subscribers
We wanted to see how well eCommerce YouTube channels perform based on the subscribers they have.
Turns out, channels with 500,000 to 2.1 million subscribers get way more video views than channels with less than 500,000 subscribers—around 4.6 times more on average.
We found that eCommerce businesses with less than 500,000 subscribers can get way more views (like almost 5 times more) if they grow their subscriber base to around 1.08 million and have at least 823 videos on their YouTube channel.
According to the study, eCommerce brands with 500,000 to 2.1 million subscribers have an average of 1.08 million subscribers and 823 videos.
FAQs
Which eCommerce YouTube video lengths deliver the optimal video views and engagement rate?
The best eCommerce YouTube video length for maximizing both engagements and video views is 3 – 4 minutes. Following closely are eCommerce YouTube videos that are 1.30 minutes to 2 minutes long.
Does eCommerce YouTube video length affect views and the engagement rate?
Yes, eCommerce YouTube video has a linear correlation with video views and engagement rates. For instance, shorter videos tend to get more views, while longer videos get more engagement.
What’s the average YouTube video length and engagement rate for the eCommerce industry?
The average engagement rate for eCommerce YouTube videos is 0.02%; that’s two engagements per 1,000 video views. Conversely, eCommerce YouTube videos are typically 4 – 5 minutes long.
What’s the average subscriber engagement rate for eCommerce YouTube videos?
The subscriber engagement rate for eCommerce YouTube videos is super low—it’s only around 0.72%, which is about 7 to 8 subscribers for every 1,000.
What is the video length preference of eCommerce brands?
Most eCommerce YouTube videos (30.5%) are between 1 and 30 seconds long, while 17.5% are between 31 and 60 seconds long. But 60.7% of eCommerce YouTube videos are at most 1.30 minutes long (1 – 90 seconds).
Final Thoughts On the Optimal eCommerce YouTube Length Statistics
The optimal eCommerce YouTube video length depends on your goals.
If you want to maximize views, aim for videos between 90 and 120 seconds. If you want to maximize engagement, make your videos longer than 420 seconds. To get the best of both worlds, then videos that are 181 to 240 seconds long are your best bet.
However, it’s important to note that the relationship between eCommerce YouTube video length and views and engagement is weak. This means that making your video a little longer or shorter won’t make a big difference in results.
Ferderick is a seasoned research and data analysis expert with a proven track record of driving business growth through data-driven insights. He leverages his expertise in statistical modeling, data visualization, and machine learning to inform strategic decision-making and optimize business outcomes.
Felix is the Senior Content Editor and Strategist at Adilo, where he harnesses his expertise in social video marketing, online video platforms, video editing, e-commerce, e-learning, and marketing to to help businesses drive results. With a keen eye for storytelling and a pulse on industry trends, Felix crafts actionable content that empowers brands to elevate their video marketing strategies and thrive in the digital landscape.
