YouTube is bringing its shopping affiliate program to the UK, giving creators there the ability to tag products from partner retailers directly in their videos, Shorts and livestreams and earn a commission when viewers buy.

The program, announced by YouTube in a post from its TeamYouTube channel, lets eligible UK creators tag items from six partner merchants: Wayfair, Currys, Debenhams, Boots, M&S and Etsy. Creators earn revenue when fans purchase through those tagged links on the retailer’s site. YouTube said creators can pair the feature with timestamps, which let them flag the exact moment in a video when a tagged product appears.

“We’ve been focusing on making it easier for viewers to shop their new favorite products with their favorite creators,” the company said in its announcement, pointing to a string of prior updates including easier tagging tools and curated product lists ahead of the UK launch.

The expansion continues a rollout that has been underway since 2022, when YouTube first tested the affiliate program with creators in the U.S., Thailand and India. Since then, availability has extended to Korea, Indonesia, Vietnam, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, Brazil, Japan, Mexico and Argentina, with the UK now joining that list.

The barrier to entry has also dropped sharply over that period. Social Media Today reported that YouTube required more than 20,000 subscribers to qualify at launch, a threshold the platform lowered to 500 subscribers as of March. In the UK, YouTube said any channel that meets YouTube Partner Program eligibility, which also starts at 500 subscribers, will be able to access the shopping affiliate option.

The move fits into a broader push YouTube CEO Neal Mohan flagged as a priority for the year. In his 2026 outlook, Mohan said expanding in-stream shopping was central to making the app a “premier shopping destination.”

YouTube has paired that ambition with steady merchant growth elsewhere. In the U.S., the platform has added partners including Nike, Best Buy and Michael Kors, while international pushes have brought on retailers such as Olive Young in Korea, part of a pattern of layering local retail partners onto each new market as shopping features expand. The UK launch follows the same template.

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