YouTube unveils next phase of monetisation to boost Indian creator economy

In a major step toward strengthening India’s digital creator economy, YouTube on Friday announced significant upgrades to its e-commerce roadmap by expanding the YouTube Shopping program. The platform has onboarded Nykaa and Purplle—two leading beauty and lifestyle e-commerce brands—joining Flipkart and Myntra as key merchant partners in India. The expansion represents YouTube’s next major move in transforming video-based content into a full-scale monetisation and shopping ecosystem.

The announcement comes at a time when shopping-related watch time on YouTube has increased by over 250% year-on-year in India, demonstrating a massive shift in consumer behaviour toward content-driven commerce. According to YouTube, more than 200 million logged-in Indian users searched for shopping-related content on the platform in the past year alone—a testament to the platform’s growing influence in shaping consumer purchase decisions.

Building a creator-led commerce ecosystem

The YouTube Shopping Affiliate Programme, launched last year, has already seen strong adoption, with over 40% of eligible creators in India enrolling in the initiative. More than 3 million videos have been published with tagged affiliate products, resulting in measurable engagement and sales conversions for brands and creators alike.

With the latest expansion, YouTube plans to scale this program even further by introducing new creator tools, enhanced monetisation features, and brand partnership opportunities. These updates aim to empower a broader spectrum of Indian creators—including lifestyle vloggers, tech reviewers, fashion influencers, and beauty experts—to build sustainable revenue streams directly through content.

Gunjan Soni, Managing Director of YouTube India, highlighted the platform’s vision for the future of online commerce. “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 viewers, and deepening partnerships with top merchants, we are cementing YouTube’s role as the leading platform for the next generation of shopping experiences.”

Focus on beauty & lifestyle creators

The inclusion of Nykaa and Purplle as merchant partners signals a focused strategy to strengthen YouTube’s presence in the rapidly expanding beauty and lifestyle segment. According to internal YouTube insights, 89% of beauty shoppers in India feel YouTube helps them make confident and informed purchase decisions.

As part of the collaboration, YouTube will also launch a specialised accelerator program aimed at discovering and nurturing the next generation of Indian beauty andlifestyle creators. In association with Nykaa, this initiative will offer selected creators access to exclusive training, product partnerships, and growth-oriented mentorship.

Suyash Katyayani, Co-Founder and Chief Technology Officer at Purplle, commented on the partnership: “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.”

Boost for advertisers and brands

The shopping expansion will not only benefit creators but also brands and advertisers looking to drive sales and visibility through authentic creator-led recommendations. YouTube stated that the initiative will enable brands to accelerate high-intent traffic and strengthen customer trust by leveraging the creator-audience relationship.

Shaping the future of commerce

With India emerging as one of the world’s largest creator markets, YouTube’s latest shopping upgrade comes as a strategic move to stay ahead of competitors in social commerce—including Instagram, TikTok, and Amazon Live. The platform now aims to position itself as India’s go-to destination for content-led shopping powered by AI-enabled recommendations and seamless product tagging.

By merging entertainment, education, and commerce, YouTube is redefining how Indians discover and buy products online—signalling the rise of Creator Commerce 2.0.