Pundits evaluate affiliate marketing tie-up

The affiliate programme tie-up between YouTube Shopping and Shopee is likely to ignite a video commerce war and intensify competition among rival digital platforms to attract content creators.
The partnership will also create more opportunities for content creators to develop content and earn more income, according to affiliate marketing and digital marketing experts.
Alphabet’s YouTube this week officially announced its collaboration with Shopee in Thailand in the area of affiliate marketing to enter the video commerce segment.
Shopee recently struck a pact with YouTube in Indonesia, betting that the video platform would help it attract more shoppers and stay ahead of rivals TikTok and Lazada in the company’s biggest market.
Under the terms of the tie-up, content creators can promote and tag products in their YouTube videos, viewers can click on a link to complete a purchase on Shopee, while the creators will earn a commission.
The affiliate programme is the process through which an affiliate earns a commission for marketing another person’s or company’s products.
Pattarawut Kuljan, chief executive of Interspace Thailand, operator of the Acesstrade affiliate marketing platform, said affiliate marketing was initiated over 15 years ago by Amazon in the US. The advent of TikTokShop spurred affiliate marketing based on live and video formats throughout Southeast Asia.
TikTokShop’s affiliate marketing operates in a close loop, where creators can promote products that are only available on the TikTok platform, Mr Pattarawut noted. YouTube Shopping will allow content creators to promote products in a more open ecosystem.
“In Southeast Asia, YouTube Shopping started the affiliate programme partnership with Shopee and it is expected to expand via similar partnerships with other platforms and websites,” said Mr Pattarawut.
He added that products that prospective buyers want to consider in great detail first before making a decision, such as property and electronics products, could benefit on YouTube in the form of a long-form video. TikTokShop fits for fast moving products, he said.
Mr Pattarawut expects that the value of affiliate marketing value in Thailand would grow 50% in 2025 from an estimated 555 million baht this year, with the latter figure representing 1.7% of all digital advertising tallying 35 billion baht this year. He also anticipates that the marketing budget would be shifted to performance-based marketing.
Currently, 60% of the average marketing spend is for brand awareness, while 40% goes to performance marketing. The ratio will then become 50:50, before reversing to 40% of the average marketing spend being used for brand awareness, with 60% going to performance marketing.
Thanawat Malabuppha, chief executive of Priceza, said Thailand’s e-commerce sector was expected to grow 15% in 2025, while spending on affiliate marketing would increase by around 30%.
The YouTube-Shopee collaboration would stimulate growth of the affiliate marketing trend and generate a commission fee war in a bid to attract talent creators to the e-commerce platforms.
Mr Thanawat said YouTubers have long been able to embed their affiliate marketing links in their video content but such links are located under the description of what the videos are about and are barely noticed. But the YouTube Shopping affiliate programme would make it easier for their audience to shop, he added.
Automotive firms and property firms such as SC Asset and Supalai started using affiliate marketing, which benefits their products by being presented in long-form videos, said Mr Thanawat.
Currently, the commission fee the content creators gain from affiliate marketing range from 1% to 30% or even 40%.
Pawat Ruangdejworachai, president of Media Intelligence Group Co, a leading digital agency firm, said there has been an increase in the number and diversification of affiliate platforms.
The YouTube-Shopee tie-up will create new channels for brands and affiliates to promote products through live videos and direct links to Shopee, opening up opportunities to reach a wider audience.
Both YouTube and TikTok will compete and develop more attractive commission systems to attract brands and affiliates and retain talent marketers on their platforms.
He added that Shopee requires that the content creators who will carry out affiliate marketing have at least 10,000 followers, which makes it quite difficult for ordinary people to join the affiliate programme. TikTok only requires creators to have 1,000 followers to carry out affiliate marketing.
Mr Pawat said the winners in the YouTube-Shopee alliance are the content creators, who will be able to earn money through many more channels, including the affiliate programme, rather than just having to wait for advertising fees or sponsorship.
In the future, content creators might also be hired and get paid on a performance-based basis. The alliance might also attract more viewers from TikTok or Meta to YouTube, he noted.
He said the biggest beneficiary is probably Shopee, which might offer an extra commission fee to content creators who can produce content and ensure purchases take place on YouTube Shopping.
He said the YouTube-Shopee alliance could pose a challenge to other platforms, such as Meta, if their shopping content is not strong enough. He added that they might urgently find partners to respond to the shift in consumer behaviour.