Affiliate Marketing Industry Poised for Growth, Says Rakuten

The affiliate marketing industry is set to grow to $6.8 billion over the next five years, says a recent survey commissioned by Rakuten Affiliate Network.

Affiliate marketing spending will grow by a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 10.1 percent from 2015 to 2020, said the survey, which looked at the perception and effectiveness of affiliate marketing programs.

Affiliate marketing has become an important channel for driving sales for advertisers, noted the study, which involved more than 300 advertising and publishing decision makers.

Previously deemed as a tool to drive consumers to purchase events, affiliate marketing is now regarded as a powerful channel for consumer discovery resulting in brand engagement and incremental sales.

The survey found that affiliate programs were important or very important to the overall marketing strategy of about 90 percent of advertisers.

Majority of the publishers surveyed also said that affiliate partnerships drove over 20 percent of their annual revenue.

The survey noted that advertisers and publishers have heavily invested in affiliate marketing, with more than 80 percent of advertisers and 84 percent of publishers surveyed having run an affiliate program.

Over 80 percent of advertisers also allotted more than 10 percent of their marketing budget to affiliate marketing.

Advertisers have gained better understanding on how purchase decisions are made as they track desktop and mobile sales, catalog-driven sales, and brick and mortar stores sales, it added.

Adam Weiss, General Manager and Senior Vice President of Rakuten Affiliate Network, commented, “Affiliate marketing is a high-value, low-risk strategy proven to drive sales and awareness for brands and revenue for publishers. When done right, it cultivates mutually beneficial and authentic relationships between brands and publishers, and those publishers and their audience.”