Fueling the next era of creator-led shopping experiences in India
India's creator economy is ready to power the next phase of online shopping. To meet this potential, our mission is clear: to build a platform that enables creators to turn their passion into sustainable businesses. That's why we're announcing the expansion of the YouTube Shopping Affiliate Program, combined with new product innovations designed to unlock higher, more sustainable income from brand partnerships.
Supercharging India's Creator Economy: YouTube Shopping's Next Phase
The journey of an Indian shopper on YouTube begins with unmatched intent. We aren't just a platform for viewing; we are the first stop for product discovery and research.
Consider the scale: Over 200 million logged-in users in India had shopping-related searches on YouTube. 1 This high-intent activity is exploding, with shopping-related watch time clocking a growth rate of more than 250% year over year. 2
Shopping related watch time in India grew more than 250% year over year
Rooted in personally relevant, locally tailored advice, creator recommendations are translating directly into brand loyalty. In fact, 96% of surveyed shoppers were likely to reuse a product after starting their purchase journey on YouTube. 3
This powerful cycle of trust and discovery has created phenomenal momentum. In just one year since the launch of the YouTube Shopping Affiliate Program, over 40% of eligible creators in India have already joined the program 4 , with over 3 million videos tagged with affiliate products 5 .
We’re excited to expand this ecosystem by welcoming new partners to the YouTube Shopping affiliate program. With 89% of beauty shoppers in India saying YouTube helps them make confident purchase decisions 6 , we’re adding Nykaa to the YouTube Shopping Affiliate program. And, we’ll partner with Nykaa to launch our initiative designed to accelerate the next generation of India’s beauty and lifestyle creators.
89% of surveyed beauty shoppers in India say that YouTube helps them make more confident purchase decisions.
We’re also onboarding Purplle as a new merchant partner. Together, this expansion gives creators a broader product range to feature, helping them easily monetize their trusted recommendations. And, our partners drive valuable, high-intent traffic from a highly engaged audience.
To supercharge and simplify the YouTube Shopping experience, we’re rolling out an AI-powered system that will automatically display product tags at the exact moment a product is mentioned in a video. This captures viewer interest when it’s highest. We will also begin testing the ability to automatically identify and tag all eligible products mentioned in videos
Accelerating Brand-Creator Connections
The future is about making creator-led opportunities simpler and more effective. That’s why we’re introducing new tools designed to streamline the experience for creators and brands alike.
With 85% of viewers in India finding brand collaborations with creators authentic 7 , we are introducing products and features to make brand collaborations easier and more profitable for creators:
- A new format will allow creators to easily insert and replace brand segments, helping maximize the long-term earning potential of their sponsored videos.
- Soon, creators using YouTube Shorts for brand deals will be able to add a link directly to a brand’s site, providing a powerful way to drive results and giving advertisers direct access to traffic and conversion data.
- Inside Google Ads, the new Creator Partnerships Hub will allow brands to easily discover creators, integrate authentic content into their marketing, and use Partnership Ads to turn creator-led content into high-converting showcases.
The results are clear: These innovations are already delivering value. Our Partnership Ads feature allows brands to amplify creator content with superior measurement. Beauty brand Naturali, for instance, used the format to achieve a remarkable 4.58% absolute lift in consideration, a metric 2X the category benchmark. In fact, our advertising is proven to drive 2.3X higher long-term Return on Ad Spend (ROAS) vs. all paid social platforms.
From the living room, with innovations like Shoppable CTV, to Shoppable Mastheads on the phone screen, YouTube delivers both scale and trust to energize the shopping ecosystem.
YouTube is committed to fueling the next phase of sustainable business growth for creators, partners, and advertisers, making authentic discovery a powerful engine for success.
