YouTube expands Shopping programme to India to boost creator earnings

YouTube on Friday said it has launched Shopping affiliate programme in India to offer a new avenue for creators to earn revenue by tagging products in their videos.

The initiative, which allows eligible creators to feature products from Flipkart and Myntra in their content, is part of YouTube’s broader push into ecommerce in the country, tapping into the growing digital shopping trends.

The affiliate programme lets creators monetise recommendations made in regular videos, Shorts, and live streams. When viewers click on tagged items and complete purchases, creators receive a commission.

The affiliate model complements YouTube's existing Shopping feature, which lets creators promote their own merchandise by linking their stores to their channels, adding to YouTube’s suite of monetisation options like ad revenue and premium subscriptions.

Commenting on the expansion, Travis Katz, YouTube’s General Manager of Shopping, said, "India’s robust growth in video content and ecommerce makes this a natural step. The new affiliate programme creates further potential for product discovery, driven by the trusted connections between creators and their audiences."

While Flipkart and Myntra are the initial partners, YouTube said it plans to expand partnerships to other platforms. Flipkart, which has been using video commerce to engage with customers across smaller towns and cities, sees this programme as a way to boost product discovery through trusted creator endorsements.

The programme is open to eligible creators who complete the registration process via YouTube Studio. Once enrolled, creators can tag products in both new and existing videos, with options to feature these tags in livestreams as well.

"To make shopping engaging and personalised and empower customers to make informed purchase decisions, we have pioneered video commerce on our platforms, covering a variety of categories, including fashion, beauty, personal care, home furnishing and more, with strong engagement with customers across tier 2 and 3 cities," said Ravi Iyer, Senior Vice President and Head-Corporate Development and Strategic Partnerships at Flipkart.

"Using the YouTube Shopping Affiliate Program, we aim to further boost the experience and engagement of customers using Flipkart and Myntra by enabling product discovery through videos by creators on YouTube," Iyer added.