AliExpress and YouTube have announced a global strategic affiliate partnership that gives eligible creators access to AliExpress’s product catalog for use in their content, along with new commission-earning opportunities. 

The partnership, which launched in South Korea in March 2026, will expand to the United States, Brazil, the United Kingdom and Germany, with further markets to follow as YouTube’s affiliate program rolls out more broadly.

The expansion follows YouTube’s recent extension of its Shopping Affiliate Program to eligible creators in Germany and the United Kingdom, connecting those markets to AliExpress’s catalog alongside the U.S. and Brazil. A particular focus of the partnership is Brand+, AliExpress’s curated selection of products from international and local brands.

Under the integration, creators will discover and select AliExpress products directly within YouTube Studio, with the ability to tag shoppable recommendations across long-form videos, Shorts and livestreams. AliExpress said creators can draw on data covering bestselling and trending items across categories including consumer electronics, sports and outdoor, and home and living, and that viewers can link directly from YouTube to AliExpress to complete a purchase.

“Content and commerce are converging globally, and this partnership connects AliExpress’s affiliate ecosystem with YouTube’s creator ecosystem,” said Eric Zhang, Vice President of AliExpress, in a press release. “By enabling eligible products to be discovered and tagged across videos, Shorts, and livestreams, we are creating a simpler path for products to be featured through creator content at scale, and a more direct journey for consumers from product discovery to purchase.”

Creators in participating markets who meet YouTube’s channel and Shopping affiliate requirements can apply through YouTube Studio.

A Widening Merchant Roster

The AliExpress deal extends a YouTube Shopping Affiliate merchant list that already includes Amazon, which YouTube added in August, along with Nike, Etsy, Best Buy, SharkNinja, Michaels and Michael Kors in the U.S., and international partners such as Flipkart and Myntra in India and Olive Young in South Korea. YouTube has reported more than 35 billion hours of shopping-related content watched on the platform over the past year.

The partnership also arrives as creator-driven commerce grows faster than e-commerce broadly. A report from the agency Influencer found social commerce expanding at roughly four times the rate of traditional online retail, with brands that run integrated affiliate and influencer programs together seeing a 46% sales uplift compared with either channel alone.

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