The e-commerce platforms no longer only collaborate with publishers on affiliate programs as they have done for long, they now enable influencers and everyday users to create, publish, and livestream directly on their apps.
This shift has grown such affiliate marketing activity on e-commerce platforms multifold in the last one year, according to online retail company executives. (Affiliate marketing refers to influencers or publishers including product links or recommendations in their videos or content and earning a commission on it.)
Fashion platform Myntra’s chief marketing officer Sunder Balasubramanian said that the videos on the platform have grown 240% in about a year.
The videos on the platform have grown 240% in about a year.
—Myntra’s Sunder Balasubramanian
Earnings surge
Creator commissions on sales generated through their product recommendations have shot up as a result. The estimated two lakh creators across categories such as fashion, beauty, tech, home decor, and cooking, have seen their earnings double, peaking at the festival season just gone by when purchase-based commissions were at their highest, the executives said.
At Amazon India, an influencer program that is nearly a decade old has recorded traction recently. “Amazon.in’s Influencer Program now includes over one lakh creators, with many evolving into more advanced roles over time. We provide creators with tools to recommend products, earn commissions on qualifying purchases, and even get featured across Amazon,” said Zahid Khan, director of shopping experience, Amazon India said.
Livestreams with product recommendations today average 45 daily, where creators engage customers with real-time demonstrations, question and answer sessions, and exclusive promotions.
Khan said products falling under tech, fashion, beauty, home, and lifestyle consistently drive the highest engagement on live content. So, in August, Amazon launched a tech influencer program offering early access to product launches and deals, preferential commissions, dedicated content studios, training resources, and brand partnerships to tech creators.
During the Amazon Great Indian Festival, the platform featured over 2,000 livestreams hosted by more than 900 trusted creators and category experts. Engagement climbed up two times in the festive sale with 1.5 times more views and double the conversions compared to non-sale events, Khan said. The likes of chef Kunal Kapur; celeb mom-influencer Kishwer Merchant; make-up educators Sumukhi Suresh, Asha Negi, among others; interior designer Pragya Tunge; and fashion stylist Vanshika Gaba were among the influencers engaged by Amazon.
View Full Image
As young shoppers seek authenticity and a personal connection, e-commerce platforms are pushed to collaborate with content creators, said Harsh Pandit, a fashion creator with 424,000 followers on Instagram. “While e-commerce has become a solid extension of creators’ income beyond brand collaborations, it comes with its own challenges. For example, a creator with five lakh followers might earn around ₹25,000 per hour from a live e-commerce session, compared to about ₹1 lakh for a similar brand promotion video on Instagram,” he said. He started his e-commerce partnership with Amazon two years ago, followed by Meesho, Flipkart, and Myntra.
The difference lies in intent—audiences on e-commerce platforms watch with an aim to purchase, whereas on Instagram, they might engage simply because they like the style.
To be sure, some of this content created for the e-commerce platforms also finds its way on Instagram and YouTube. This reflects in the majority of creators’ earnings: close to 80% comes from brand collaborations on social media, Pandit said.
Category leaders
Tech creator Dhananjay Bhosale, who has 631,000 followers on Instagram, said that technology has emerged as one of the biggest content categories on e-commerce platforms, alongside beauty and fashion. “These (tech) products are usually higher-value, long-term investments, so consumers want to choose carefully based on their budgets and needs. Creators help by reviewing products, explaining technical terms, and testing devices extensively to give viewers realistic and practical insights,” Bhosale said.
He added that the festive season, when e-commerce giants run their flagship sales, is when creators earn the most. “Typically, 10-20% of a creator’s monthly income comes from e-commerce collaborations. But during September and October, that figure jumps by 40-50%. Live videos are especially effective then, as they allow for two-way interactions and personalized product suggestions based on specific consumer requirements,” he said.
Bhosale also pointed out that, much like how brands collaborate with creators on Instagram and YouTube, they now sponsor livestreams on e-commerce platforms during product launches, further expanding creators’ earning avenues.
This content-driven commerce model is not restricted to top-tier influencers only, with regular users turning creators, as well. According to Myntra’s Balasubramanian, the platform has over 3.5 million shopper-creators who are part of its Ultimate Glam Clan community, which has resulted in a 20% month-on-month increase in sign-ups on the app. Of these creators, the ones that are actively creating content earn up to ₹3,000-4,000 a month on an average.
“Engagement, too, has surged—creator posts are up by 80% and video content by 240%. Notably, conversion rates from social commerce are 28% higher, underscoring the growing power of this ecosystem in driving purchase intent,” said Balasubramanian.
IPO-bound Meesho has also capitalized on the growing content commerce trend. In 12 months to June 30, Meesho has enabled 39,618 active content creators who posted 679,466 “order generating content”, the company’s draft prospectus noted. “We generated ₹7.07 billion in net merchandise value (NMV) from our marketplace through content commerce in fiscal 2025 having achieved this growth within 23 months of its launch in May 2023,” read the document. NMV refers to the value of goods sold.
Emails sent to other e-commerce platforms including Nykaa, Flipkart and Purplle did not receive a response in press time.
E-commerce platforms are increasingly transforming into content hubs for influencers, an analyst said. “These platforms are doubling down on influencer-driven campaigns both on-site and across social media, as creators offer a more affordable and targeted marketing alternative to traditional advertising,” said Madhulika Tiwari, a partner specializing in retail and consumer goods at consulting firm The Knowledge Company, (formerly Technopak Advisors).
This, however, also comes with reputational risks, she added. “Given the low entry barriers, platforms must stay vigilant and equipped to handle potential controversies or damaging behavior from creators, whether on or beyond the platform.”
