The platform has scaled its YouTube Shopping Affiliate Program as shopping-related watch time in India has grown by more than 250% year over year. Over 200 million logged-in users in the country have had shopping-related searches on the platform, highlighting YouTube’s growing role in driving product discovery and purchase decisions.
To strengthen its presence in the beauty and lifestyle category, YouTube has added Nykaa and Purplle as new merchant partners to its affiliate program. The expansion has been aimed at tapping into a segment where 89% of beauty shoppers in India have said YouTube helps them make more confident purchase decisions. The move has enabled creators to monetise their content by tagging products from these partners alongside Flipkart and Myntra, ensuring broader product access for both creators and viewers.
Since its launch last year, more than 40% of eligible creators in India have enrolled in the YouTube Shopping Affiliate Program, with over three million videos tagged with affiliate products. YouTube has also introduced AI-powered product tagging features that automatically display product tags when mentioned in videos, enhancing the shopping experience by capturing viewer interest at the exact moment of mention.
Recognising that 85% of Indian viewers find brand collaborations with creators authentic, YouTube has unveiled a series of new features designed to strengthen creator-brand partnerships. These include a new flexible format allowing creators to modify brand segments in sponsored videos, the ability to add brand links on Shorts, and the launch of a Creator Partnerships Hub within Google Ads to streamline discovery and collaboration between brands and creators.
YouTube has also stated that creator collaborations across categories have continued to grow, with platforms like Myntra reporting a 3X increase in creator partnerships in the last year, particularly in the beauty and fashion segment.
Gunjan Soni, Managing Director – India, YouTube, said, “The next era of video commerce is already being defined by India’s vibrant creator economy on YouTube. We are scaling content-driven shopping from a successful program to a complete monetisation ecosystem. By empowering our creators with new tools, offering new engaging formats to our viewers and deepening and forging new partnerships with top merchants, we are cementing YouTubes role as the leading platform for the next generation of shopping experiences, a powerful engine where authentic discovery and trusted creators directly fuel sustainable business growth for everyone.”
Pratik Arun Shetty, Vice President – Growth and Marketing, Flipkart, said, “Our partnership with YouTube represents a powerful intersection of commerce and creativity – where discovery meets shopping in real time. India’s creator economy is transforming how people engage with brands, and over the past year, YouTube creators have helped unlock a brand new way for lakhs of Flipkart customers to explore, connect, and shop through engaging video content. Considering the festive season drives peak discovery and purchase intent, this ecosystem enables creators to turn inspiration into action, seamlessly. For a marketplace like Flipkart, this partnership reflects the potential for building the future of entertainment-led commerce in India – where content, community, and commerce come together to make shopping online more relevant and joyful.”
Deepash Jain, VP Marketing, Myntra, said, “Our association with Youtube continues to be strong and rewarding, unlocking exciting opportunities at the intersection of creators, content and commerce. Our creator collaborations on Youtube have grown 3X in the last one year. The momentum is translating into a meaningful engagement across categories with Beauty and Fashion at the epicentre driving a growing share of new customers. This reflects social-led commerce’s evolving role in fostering authentic discovery and inspiration-led shopping.”
A Nykaa spokesperson said, “Nykaa has long believed in content-led commerce, putting creators at the center of how we connect with consumers. Many of them have been brand advocates from the very beginning, helping us pioneer how beauty is discovered in India. Collaborating with YouTube Shopping allows us to build on this approach and reach audiences in more authentic, meaningful ways.”
Suyash Katyayani, Co-Founder and Chief Technology Officer, Purplle, said, “Our collaboration with YouTube Shopping is anchored in a shared vision to make beauty discovery engaging, content-driven, and impactful. YouTube’s unparalleled reach across India allows us to connect with consumers at scale and translate engagement into measurable business growth. We’re proud to partner with YouTube, blending content and commerce to create a seamless, trusted shopping experience. Together, we’re shaping a model where creators inspire, consumers discover, and brands grow, driving the next wave of digital commerce in India.”
