The programme will enable eligible creators to tag products in their videos and earn revenue when viewers make purchases on the retailers’ websites.
Google had invested $350 million in Flipkart in May.
“The incredible global success of YouTube Shopping, with over 30 billion hours of shopping-related content watched in 2023 alone, demonstrates the power of connecting creators, viewers and brands in exciting new ways,” said Travis Katz, general manager and vice president, shopping, YouTube.
The YouTube Shopping affiliate programme adds to existing monetisation options like ad revenue, YouTube premium, channel memberships and fan-driven features to help creators earn revenue.
YouTube’s creator economy has generated Rs 16,000 crore of economic activity and created 7,50,000 jobs in India, chief executive Neal Mohan said in an interview with ET.
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“A new area that I’m very excited about where I think India will lead the way in the world is video commerce — those types of shopping opportunities will be very vibrant on our platform,” Mohan had said while highlighting that YouTube was testing a new app, YouTube Create, along with some AI-led language tools in India before their global rollout.Online platforms have been increasingly turning to video commerce and collaborating with content creators for marketing and advertising to reach a wider user base. Flipkart and group company Myntra have been using video commerce through initiatives such as Myntra Minis, Ultimate Glam Clan and Flipkart’s Affluencer programme over the past few years. Rival Amazon is also exploring video commerce, which is particularly effective for fashion and beauty-related categories that rely on impulse and influence driven purchases.
With 98% of Flipkart’s creator base made up of micro and nano influencers, the company has used video commerce to promote authenticity and community engagement.
“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, Flipkart Group.
“Using the YouTube Shopping Affiliate programme, 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,” he added.
