Shopping (YouTube Shopping)

What is YouTube Shopping?

YouTube Shopping is a set of YouTube features that lets eligible creators promote products from their own store or from other brands across their content. Creators connect a store or tag products in videos, Shorts and live streams, and viewers buy on the retailer's site.

There are two separate tracks. With your own store, you sell your merch and keep the retailer's revenue. With the affiliate program, you tag products from participating brands and earn a commission when a viewer buys.

Why it matters for creators

Shopping adds a revenue line that does not depend on ad rates, so it works alongside the YouTube Partner Program rather than replacing it. Product tags also give you data: you can see which products viewers click and buy, and build future content around what actually converts.

For a practical walkthrough of tagging, read our guide to product tagging on YouTube.

Who is eligible

To promote your own products

• You are in the YouTube Partner Program.

• Your channel meets the subscriber threshold for YPP, or it is an Official Artist Channel.

• Your channel audience is not set as Made for Kids, and your channel does not have a significant number of videos set as made for kids.

• Your channel has not received any Hate Speech Community Guidelines strikes.

To promote products from other brands (affiliate program)

• Your channel is in the YouTube Partner Program.

• Your channel meets the subscriber threshold for YPP.

• You are based in Argentina, Brazil, India, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Mexico, Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, the United States, or Vietnam.

• Your channel is not a music channel, an Official Artist Channel, or associated with music partners such as labels, distributors, publishers or VEVO.

• Your channel audience is not set as Made for Kids, and your channel does not have a significant number of videos set as made for kids.

YouTube notes that eligibility criteria may differ for pilot programs. Check the current rules on the official Help page.

How to turn it on and find offers

Once you qualify, you sign up in YouTube Studio:

1. Open YouTube Studio and go to Earn.

2. If you are eligible, select Get started in the affiliate program section and turn it on.

3. Review and accept the YouTube Shopping Affiliate Program Terms of Service, then start tagging products.

To browse sellers and commission rates, go to Earn, then Shopping, then Explore affiliate offers. Merchants can also send custom commission rates, which appear under Special offer promotions when they are available for your channel.

How you get paid

Every participating brand sets its own commission rate and attribution window per product, and the percentage is shown with each offer. Commissions are paid through AdSense for YouTube within 60 to 120 days after the purchase, to allow for returns. If a customer returns the product, the commission is reversed.

YouTube is currently running a temporary incentive under which 100% of commissions from affiliate merchants go to creators. YouTube says it will give at least 30 days notice before that incentive ends.