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affiliate marketing

Retail sector sees 8% increase in revenue across affiliate network

The retail landscape has seen an 8% increase in revenue year on year (YoY) throughout Q2 of 2022, according to new data from global affiliate marketing platform, Awin.

Despite challenging market conditions, sales were up 4% YoY between April and June, with over £1.2billion in revenue being tracked on the network across 40 different sub-sectors.

Browsing behaviour was an up by 45%, while average order value (AOV) hit £101.27, a £6.52 increase from H1 of 2021. Yet, this increase in spend is likely to be as a result of brands passing extra costs to customers rather than out of choice or to access a better product or service.

Best performing sectors YoY include erotic (+350%), childrenswear (+118%), pharmaceuticals (+37%), pet (+45%), jewellery (+33%) and DIY (+17%).

Retail and travel client partner at Awin, Joelle Hillman, commented: “Many of the sectors that saw growth over the last 24 months and were cited as ‘lockdown trends’, from getting prescriptions online during high street closures to taking on more DIY projects during lockdown.

However, the continued growth in these sectors is a clear indicator that purchase behaviour has moved online, and specifically into the channel, for good.

“We are also seeing the continuation of ‘the lipstick effect’, despite a rise in prices, and decline in disposable income the UK are still keen to treat themselves to life’s little luxuries, with health and beauty up 21% and jewellery up 33%.”

One ‘lockdown trend’ that hasn’t remained however is online alcohol purchases, which are down 39% YoY, as we’re able to enjoy bars and restaurants again, and more recently pub gardens. Computer sales are also down on last year (-22%) as well as office supplies (-23%) now many remote workers are likely to have their home offices fully equipped.

Clothing has also seen strong growth YoY, with menswear sales up by 33%, womenswear up 25%, and childrenswear up 118%.

IAB: 50% of marketers saw an increase in affiliate spend in 2020

Many affiliate programmes saw high double and occasional treble digit growth in 2020, according to a new report from the IAB Affiliates & Partnerships Group.

With almost one in five brands and agencies spending more than £250k per month on their affiliate campaigns, the organisation says it’s clear that it’s a serious route to market.

However, Kevin Edwards, Global Strategy Director at AWIN and Chair at the IAB Affiliates & Partnerships Group, says growth has to be weighed against those brands who reduced their spend.

The travel sector remains an important one for the affiliate channel and the IAB remains hopeful that it will fire back in the second half of 2021, taking advantage of pent up consumer demand. It expects the most favoured affiliate business models – cashback and content sites – will be ready to support brands when that time comes.

Edwards says that digital marketing in general faces challenges in tackling the ability to track campaigns in the future, so offering clarity on the current state of play within the channel is vital: “Alongside demonstrating the value of affiliate marketing and ensuring transparency and trust are at the heart of what we do, this survey sets out a blueprint for future projects.

“The affiliate industry has a proud heritage of demonstrating its value to brands and agencies, and this survey helps guide our future strategy in proving why we should be front and centre of advertisers’ future marketing plans.”

You can download the report from the IAB website here.

Alibaba launches global affiliate program with Awin

Alibaba has expanded its partnership with Awin to launch an affiliate program in the UK, US, EU, LATAM and APAC regions. 

Alibaba.com is the second Alibaba Group brand to launch its affiliate program on Awin.com, following the success of the AliExpress program, facilitated by two dedicated publisher events in London and Berlin in the run up to Singles Day.

Alibaba.com and AliExpress are the group’s two biggest retail marketplaces outside of China, covering both B2B and B2C sides of the business. 

Affiliate marketing is one of the most important channels for Alibaba.com, especially for big sale promotions, including its month-long sale in September, along with ambitious plans for its global program, with the aim of growing the number of daily unique visitors to 1,000,000 per day by the end of 2019. 

David James, Global Account Management Director at Awin.com, said: “Awin is very excited to have Alibaba live across our global network.  Building upon the incredibly successful partnership between our two companies, the new global programs for Alibaba will further allow publishers to take advantage of the meteoric rise of China’s largest ecommerce platform.  Together with AliExpress, these exciting new retailers allow consumers and businesses to tap into a vast array of goods, often directly from the manufacturer. Awin is proud to be partnering with Alibaba to grow its international presence across the globe.” 

Heaven Li, Senior Manager, Traffic Management at Alibaba Group, said:“As the major network player and with a great reputation in the industry, we are very excited to have Awin on board. We have seen a great conversion rate so far, so we believe there is huge potential for our partnership.

“Awin has an extensive publisher portfolio across all verticals, which can help us explore new opportunities. We look forward to doing business together with new affiliate partners, particularly for our September promotion which is not to be missed.”