YouTube expands shopping program in India with Nykaa, Purplle and new AI tools for creators

YouTube is elevating its shopping experience in India by introducing new merchant partnerships, cutting-edge AI tagging tools, and initiatives aimed at enhancing collaborations between creators and brands. In a recent announcement, the platform revealed an expansion of its YouTube Shopping Affiliate Program to include notable names like Nykaa and Purplle, two of the largest beauty and lifestyle retailers in the country. This strategic move aligns with a significant increase in shopping-related viewership on YouTube, which has surged over 250% year-on-year. Currently, more than 200 million logged-in users in India are actively searching for shopping content. Gunjan Soni, Managing Director for YouTube India, commented on the evolving landscape, stating, "India’s vibrant creator economy is defining the next era of video commerce. We are transitioning from a successful program to a comprehensive monetization ecosystem. Our goal is to empower creators, engage viewers with new formats, and forge deeper partnerships with top merchants, solidifying YouTube’s position as the premier platform for the future of shopping experiences." Creators who join the affiliate program can now tag products from both Nykaa and Purplle, expanding the range of brands and products available to viewers, alongside existing partners like Flipkart and Myntra. YouTube reports that 89% of beauty shoppers in India find the platform instrumental in making informed purchase decisions. To nurture this growing trend, YouTube plans to collaborate with Nykaa to identify and mentor emerging beauty and lifestyle creators in India. Pratik Arun Shetty, Vice President of Growth and Marketing at Flipkart, emphasized the significance of the partnership, stating, "Our collaboration with YouTube represents a dynamic fusion of commerce and creativity, enabling real-time shopping experiences through engaging video content." Similarly, Deepash Jain, VP of Marketing at Myntra, highlighted the successful partnership with YouTube, noting, "Our collaborations have tripled over the past year, showcasing the increasing importance of social-led commerce in driving genuine discovery and inspiration-driven shopping." Nykaa expressed its commitment to content-driven commerce, stating, "We believe in placing creators at the heart of our consumer connections. Collaborating with YouTube Shopping allows us to enhance this approach and connect with audiences in more meaningful ways." Suyash Katyayani, Co-Founder and CTO of Purplle, added, "Our partnership with YouTube Shopping is rooted in a shared vision to make beauty discovery engaging and impactful. Together, we are cultivating a model where creators inspire, consumers discover, and brands thrive." To further enrich the shopping experience, YouTube is rolling out AI-powered product tagging that automatically highlights products as they are mentioned in videos, capturing viewer attention at peak moments. The platform plans to test automatic identification and tagging for all eligible products mentioned in videos by the end of the year. Additionally, YouTube has introduced features like Product Stickers on Shorts, timestamp-synced tags, and a Chrome extension to streamline product saving and tagging. Beyond shopping enhancements, YouTube is also focusing on strengthening brand-creator partnerships by offering flexible brand segment insertion in sponsorship videos, direct brand link integration in YouTube Shorts, and a new Creator Partnerships Hub within Google Ads, designed to facilitate more efficient collaborations. With over 40% of eligible Indian creators already part of the affiliate program and more than 3 million videos tagged with products, YouTube is creating an ecosystem where content, commerce, and community seamlessly converge.