Which niche is right for affiliate links?

In late September and early October 2025 (calendar weeks 40 and 41), Bitkom Research surveyed 1,120 internet users aged 16 and over online, 1,072 of them online shoppers. They were asked which goods they had bought online in the past twelve months, and several answers were allowed. The figures are in the study report “Digitaler Handel in Deutschland” (Digital commerce in Germany), figure 3 on page 12.

The table shows how common buying online is in each category. It does not show what a shop pays for a click or a sale, or how often people buy through creator links. Fashion also came first among the topics people follow influencers for in a Bitkom survey from 2022. The full list is in the guide on influencer recommendations.

An example, assuming you get 5% commission on the net value and nothing on returned goods: a jumper at €50 net earns you €2.50, a shower gel at €4 net €0.20. If the jumper goes back, you get nothing. If a shop pays per click, your pay does not depend on the sale.

If you order online from a shop as a private buyer in Germany, you can usually withdraw from the purchase within 14 days. For goods, the period starts once they have arrived (§ 312g(1), § 355(2), § 356(2) no. 1 BGB, the German Civil Code). Unless agreed otherwise, there is no right of withdrawal for items made to measure, for example, or for sealed goods that are unsuitable for return for health or hygiene reasons once the seal has been removed after delivery (§ 312g(2) nos. 1 and 3 BGB). In a Bitkom survey from autumn 2023 (1,050 online shoppers), a size that did not fit was the most common reason for returns, for example with clothes or furniture: two thirds (67%) gave it. The terms of the shop or affiliate programme decide if a sale commission is lost when something is sent back.

New books in Germany have a fixed retail price. The publisher or importer sets it for each edition, and anyone selling books commercially to end buyers has to stick to it (§ 3 sentence 1, § 5(1) BuchPrG, the Fixed Book Price Act). This usually also applies to e-books offered for permanent access (§ 2(1) no. 3), but not to used books (§ 3 sentence 2) or copies marked as damaged (§ 7(1) no. 4). Foreign-language books are only covered if they are mainly intended for sale in Germany (§ 2(2)). For the same edition, a price comparison will therefore usually not show a cheaper new price. Differences tend to come from shipping, which shops are allowed to pay for (§ 7(4) no. 3). For you, this means your opinion sells a new book, not the price.

Germany’s Heilmittelwerbegesetz (HWG, the law on advertising for medicines and health products) applies to advertising for medicines and medical devices whatever the claim (§ 1(1) nos. 1 and 1a HWG). It covers cosmetics as soon as a claim refers to detecting, removing or relieving illness, suffering, physical injury or medical complaints (§ 1(1) no. 2(a) and (2) HWG). It is then misleading, for example, to attribute effects to a product that it does not have, or to falsely give the impression that success is certain (§ 3 HWG). Talk about how you use a product and what you like about it instead, and leave out claims about illness or complaints, even if they are your own experience. Food supplements count as foods in law (§ 1(1) NemV, the German Food Supplements Ordinance). They have their own rules, which this page does not cover.

Since 27 September 2026, the following, among others, have been banned outright in dealings with consumers under the annex to the UWG (Act against Unfair Competition): general environmental claims without proof of recognised excellent environmental performance, claims such as “climate neutral” based on offsetting (nos. 4a and 4c) and false claims about durability or repairability (no. 23d). A claim counts as general if it is not part of a sustainability label and what exactly it refers to is not stated clearly and prominently in the same medium (§ 2(2) no. 1 UWG). So instead of “sustainable”, say in the same post what is backed up, such as the share of recycled fibres given by the manufacturer. Telling children directly in an ad to buy, themselves or through their parents, is banned outright as well (no. 28). The guides on green advertising and young audiences go into more detail.

1. For two weeks, note which products you actually use and what your community asks about in comments and messages.
2. Match these products to the categories in the table above. That way you see if your focus is on goods that many people buy online.
3. Look up five typical products in several shops: same brand, same name, same size, colour or volume.
4. Go through the pitfalls: are returns common in your niche, is the price fixed, do you need claims about effects, the environment or durability, do many children follow you?
5. Decide how you will deal with them, for example with size details for fashion or without healing claims for skincare. Then start with a few products.

• You have used the product yourself and can say what you like about it and what you don’t.
• People buy it again, such as skincare or make-up that runs out. Then your link can lead to a sale more than once.
• The price suits your community: the people who follow you can afford it without thinking twice.
• It stays in the range for a while, so links in older posts still work.
• It fits a season or an occasion, and you know when to show it, such as winter coats from October.

wyrld has hundreds of creators, mainly in fashion, beauty and interiors, with a young audience, above all Gen Z. You can add products from more than 90,000 partner shops to your storefront, over a billion products in total, Amazon included, and group them into collections, for example one for outfits and one for your home. You don’t sign up with affiliate networks yourself, not even when you add a new niche.

When you add a product, wyrld works out its brand, name and variant, looks for the same item in its partner shops and shows your community the offers found with prices side by side. Depending on the shop, you earn per click, per sale or both. That matters if a lot gets sent back in your niche: if a shop pays per click, you are paid for the click even if nobody buys afterwards. For sales, commission is paid on the net value after returns and cancellations.