AmzLoss- Electronics accessories, home, furniture and luxury beauty dropped to the lowest tiers in 2026.
- Apparel holds at 4%, and digital products pay the strongest rates (4-8%).
- The 'up to 10%' headline now applies almost exclusively to mobile accessories and digital/game content.
- Category-level impact is only real when measured against your own earnings report.
Amazon's 2026 rate table reshaped which content is worth writing. The changes were not uniform: some categories kept their rates, a few went up, and several that publishers leaned on for years dropped to 1-1.5%. Understanding the new table by category is the difference between optimizing for higher earnings and optimizing for a rate that no longer pays.
Which categories were cut in 2026
The deepest cuts landed in categories that previously carried a 4-4.5% rate:
- Electronics accessories & components — down to 1%. Once a reliable mid-tier earner, now among the lowest-paying categories.
- Furniture and home — 1%. Big ticket, low margin. A €500 table now earns around €5 per sale pre-return.
- Luxury beauty — 1.5%. Dropped from the previous tier, hitting skincare and cosmetics reviews hardest.
These cuts matter twice: the per-sale amount shrinks, and after the audit's return/discount logic, net earnings in big-ticket home categories can land below break-even for content that takes hours to research.
Categories that held or rose
Apparel and accessories held at 4%, which is why fashion content is now relatively more valuable than before. Physical music and video pay 4.5%, and digital products — games, software, audiobooks, Kindle — pay 4% to 8% and are the standout winners of the new table. The occasional 8-10% rate still exists, but realistically only in mobile accessories and digital/game categories.
What this means for your content mix
If you publish heavily in home, furniture or electronics accessories, the honest response is to shift writing effort toward apparel, digital products, and higher-commission programs on networks like ShareASale and CJ for those niches. You do not need to abandon a category — gaming, software and digital still pay well — but you should rank every future post idea against its category's 2026 rate before investing hours.
Measure the real impact on your account
Category averages hide your own situation. Export your Product Earnings Report and run it through the earnings audit to see exactly which categories underpaid after the change, then use the commission calculator to compare what a post would earn at the new rate versus 2025. That concrete number — not the headline table — decides what you write next.
Related Reading
- Amazon Commission Rates by Category (2026)
- What the 2026 Commission Cuts Mean for Affiliates
- How to Catch Amazon Rate Changes Fast
Frequently Asked Questions
Did Amazon cut all affiliate rates in 2026?
No. Electronics accessories, home, furniture and luxury beauty dropped to 1-1.5%, while apparel held at 4% and digital products pay 4-8%.
What is the highest Amazon commission rate in 2026?
Digital and game products pay up to 8%, with the occasional 10% still reachable in mobile accessories and digital content categories.
Should I stop writing about home and electronics?
Not necessarily, but run the math first. At 1% rates, low-conversion or return-heavy content may sit below break-even, so route those topics to higher-commission programs or higher-intent formats.