YouTube is officially launching its shopping-affiliate program in Germany, allowing creators to tag merchant products directly within their videos, Shorts, and live streams to earn commissions on sales, according to a corporate blog post published by the platform.
Launch Partners and Network Expansion
For its initial rollout in Germany, YouTube has partnered with ten major retailers, according to the platform’s official announcement. The launch lineup features About You, Bonprix, Home24, Kaufland, MediaMarktSaturn, Otto, Shop-Apotheke, Tchibo, Thalia, and XXXLutz. YouTube states that this merchant network will grow in the coming weeks as more retailers integrate their product catalogs into YouTube Studio.
According to the company’s internal experiments cited in the announcement, videos featuring direct product tags achieve more than twice as many clicks compared to traditional affiliate links placed solely in video descriptions. Retailers manage their own product catalogs and set individual commission rates per product. YouTube confirmed that creators currently keep 100 percent of these merchant-offered commissions, though the company notes this elevated payout rate is explicitly temporary.
Eligibility and Television Viewing
Participation in the new affiliate program is restricted to creators who are accepted members of the YouTube Partner Program and have met specific subscriber thresholds. According to YouTube’s terms, music channels and channels designated as “made for kids” are excluded from the feature. Furthermore, the platform announced plans to tighten entry requirements for the broader Partner Program by February 2027, at which point new applicants will need to accumulate double the current requirement of watch hours or Shorts views.
A notable technical update allows viewers to access tagged product information directly on television screens.
Compliance and Advertising Disclosures
Content featuring tagged affiliate products must adhere strictly to YouTube’s established policies for paid product placements. According to the platform’s guidelines, creators are legally and platform-wide required to clearly label such content as advertising. Affiliate commissions represent an additional revenue stream for creators, sitting alongside brand sponsorships, ad revenue, and YouTube Premium subscriber revenue splits.
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