US YouTubers can now earn commission from Amazon products

US creators can now tag Amazon products directly in their YouTube videos and earn commission when viewers buy them.

The ecommerce giant has teamed up with YouTube to bring its products into the YouTube Shopping affiliate programme, which lets creators tag items from participating retailers in their content and earn a percentage of qualifying sales.

The programme expanded to eligible US creators in 2023, initially bringing together more than 50 brands including Sephora, Ulta Beauty, Nordstrom and Wayfair. Retailers set their own commission rates and determine how long after someone clicks a product tag a resulting purchase can be attributed to the creator.

The addition of Amazon gives creators access to a potentially much broader range of products to promote through YouTube. Its entire catalogue will not automatically be available, however, with creators instead able to choose from Amazon products made available through the programme.

Creators who cannot find a particular item can ask YouTube to consider adding it, while those with auto-tagging enabled may have eligible Amazon products automatically identified in recent uploads.

Creators must be members of the YouTube Partner Programme to qualify and be enrolled in YouTube Shopping's US affiliate programme. They also have to possess an active Amazon Influencer Program or Amazon Associates account linked to their YouTube channel.

Earnings can be tracked through YouTube and commissions are paid through AdSense.

The wider YouTube Shopping affiliate programme has been expanding internationally and is now available to eligible creators in 14 markets. YouTube announced a UK version in July, with participating retailers then including Boots, Currys, Debenhams, Etsy, M&S, Next and Wayfair.

The Amazon tie-up comes as the biggest social platforms increasingly build affiliate commerce directly into their products.

Earlier this year, Meta began rolling out affiliate shopping tools across Facebook and Instagram, allowing creators to attach products directly to posts and Reels rather than sending audiences through external links. Amazon was its launch affiliate partner in the US.

The shift also puts YouTube and Meta in more direct competition with affiliate and link-in-bio platforms, which have built their businesses on infrastructure the platforms are now replicating themselves.