THE WHAT? YouTube has added Amazon as an affiliate partner for YouTube Shopping, allowing creators to tag products sold on the e-commerce platform directly within videos and livestreams.
THE DETAILS The partnership enables eligible YouTube creators to connect viewers with Amazon products and earn commissions from resulting purchases, adding the world’s largest online retailer to a shopping programme that already works with retailers including Sephora and Walmart. YouTube Shopping has expanded beyond the US into markets including the UK, India, Brazil, Mexico and parts of Southeast Asia, with global gross merchandise volume increasing 13-fold between the first quarter of 2024 and the first quarter of 2026. More than one million monetising creators now participate in the programme, while viewers watch approximately 110 million hours of shopping-related YouTube content each day.
THE WHY? The Amazon partnership strengthens YouTube’s push into creator-led commerce and provides beauty brands with another route to connect product discovery, influencer content and purchasing, as competition between YouTube, TikTok and other platforms for social commerce spending intensifies.
Source: Bloomberg
