Executive Summary

The pandemic helped power affiliate marketing’s growth, and the looming economic challenges figure to give it another jolt. The affiliate channel has historically thrived in periods of economic uncertainty. But it is not yet a critical channel in the digital ad landscape.

3 KEY QUESTIONS THIS REPORT WILL ANSWER

1. How much are US marketers spending in the affiliate marketing ecosystem?
2. How are new players, such as influencers and buy now, pay later (BNPL) providers, reshaping the space?
3. What strategies should marketers employ as the ecosystem continues to evolve?

WHAT’S IN THIS REPORT? An overview of the affiliate marketing space, including comparisons with related digital advertising channels; analyses and insights from practitioners on how the space is changing.

KEY STAT: More than a quarter (28%) of US marketing executives said they do not know or do not measure partnership marketing’s effect on company revenues, despite it being a channel dominated by performance metrics.