The upper carousel is one of the most talked-about concepts in the Amazon Influencer Program, but if you’re newer to the program, you might not fully understand what it is, why it matters, or how to tell which products actually accept influencer videos. This guide breaks down everything you need to know about upper carousels and how to identify the product opportunities that give you the best chance of earning commissions.
Table of Contents
- What Is the Upper Carousel?
- Why the Upper Carousel Matters So Much
- The Four Types of Upper Carousels You’ll Encounter
- The Brand Video Requirement
- Layout Doesn’t Matter—Here’s What Does
- Important Exceptions: Apple, Beats, and Amazon Basics
- Finding the Best Opportunities
- Watch the Full Video
What Is the Upper Carousel?
When you visit any product page on Amazon, the first thing you see at the top of the page is a collection of images and sometimes videos that you can click through. This is the upper carousel. It’s the primary visual area where customers browse product photos, zoom in on details, and—on products that support it—watch videos from both the brand and Amazon influencers.
The upper carousel is distinct from the lower video carousel, which appears much further down the product page and contains additional influencer videos. While both carousels can host your content, the upper carousel is where the real value lies.
Why the Upper Carousel Matters So Much
The upper carousel gets dramatically more engagement than any other section of the product page. Think about your own shopping behavior on Amazon: when you’re considering a product, you naturally click through the images and videos at the top to learn more before scrolling down. Most customers do the same. This makes the upper carousel the highest-traffic, highest-conversion placement available to influencers.
The lower carousel, by contrast, requires buyers to scroll past the product description, bullet points, reviews, and other sections before they even see it. Many buyers never make it that far. This is why influencers who consistently target products with upper carousel placement opportunities tend to earn significantly more than those who rely on lower carousel placement alone.
The Four Types of Upper Carousels You’ll Encounter
Not all upper carousels are created equal, and understanding the differences is critical to making smart product selections. The first type—and the one you want to target—shows a play icon with text underneath it, such as “Videos” or “2 videos.” When you see this combination of a play icon plus descriptive text, it means the product accepts influencer videos in the upper carousel. This is your green light.
The second type shows a play icon but with no text underneath. This indicates a brand-only video carousel—influencer videos are not accepted. You’ll commonly see this across entire product categories like clothing, where Amazon has decided not to allow influencer video placements in the upper carousel.
The third and fourth types have no video elements at all. Some product pages show only pictures in the carousel with no video icon whatsoever, meaning there’s simply no video opportunity available. Others display grouped image thumbnails where the brand has uploaded many product photos. In neither case will you be able to get an influencer video placed in the upper carousel.
The Brand Video Requirement
Here’s a crucial piece of information that catches many new influencers off guard: in order for an upper carousel video section to exist at all, the brand must have uploaded at least one of their own videos to the product page first. No brand video means no upper carousel video slot—period. Your influencer video cannot create that section from scratch.
This leads to a very common mistake. An influencer sees a product with zero videos on the page and assumes they’ll be the first and only one there—a perfect opportunity. But if the reason there are no videos is that the brand hasn’t uploaded one yet, you’ll only end up in the lower carousel regardless of how early you are. Always verify that a brand video exists before investing time in creating content for a product.
Layout Doesn’t Matter—Here’s What Does
Amazon uses different visual layouts for its product pages. Some display the carousel in a side-by-side format, while others use a vertical top-to-bottom arrangement. Don’t let these layout differences confuse you. The layout is irrelevant—what matters is whether the play icon with text underneath is present. As long as you see that combination, the product accepts influencer videos regardless of how the page is arranged.
Focus your evaluation on the indicators that actually matter: the play icon, the text label, and the number of existing videos. These tell you everything you need to know about whether a product is a viable opportunity for your content.
Important Exceptions: Apple, Beats, and Amazon Basics
While the play-icon-plus-text rule works for the vast majority of Amazon products, there are a few notable exceptions. Apple and Beats by Dre products may display upper carousels that appear to accept influencer videos—complete with the play icon and text label—but they actually block influencer content. Apple has a special arrangement with Amazon that prevents outside creator videos from being placed on their product pages. Several influencers have learned this the hard way after creating content that never received placement.
Amazon Basics products may also restrict influencer videos in certain cases. Beyond these exceptions, the standard rules apply reliably across Amazon’s product catalog. Just be cautious with Apple-owned brands and always verify before spending significant time on a product from these manufacturers.
Finding the Best Opportunities
The ideal product opportunity is one with an active upper carousel that accepts influencer videos, but with minimal existing competition. Ideally, you want to see one brand video and very few—or zero—influencer videos already placed. A product with nine or more influencer videos already in the upper carousel is going to dilute your click share significantly, even if you manage to get placement.
There will be times when a product without an upper carousel is still worth pursuing—perhaps it has an exceptional Creator Connections campaign or it’s a product you genuinely want for personal use. But these should be exceptions to your overall strategy, not the rule. Make upper carousel products with open spots the foundation of your product research, and you’ll put yourself in the best position to earn consistent commissions.
Watch the Full Video
Watch the original video from Oink for Influencers on YouTube:
