Creators Are Dragging Affiliate Into New Territory
Despite its uncomplicated value proposition, affiliate marketing is in a constant state of reinvention. This survey of 1,378 US consumers about their attitudes toward advertising and privacy identified a number of trends that could shift the balance of power in affiliate.
Key Question: How do consumers encounter and view affiliate content, and how do they feel about it?
Key Stat: Less than half of millennials (45.3%) and less than half of Gen Zers (46.6%) said they have seen affiliate content on websites.
Here’s what’s in the full report
- 4 Exportable files for easy reading, analysis and sharing.
- 7 Charts: Reliable data in simple displays for presentations and quick decision making.
- 9 Expert Perspectives: Insights from industry and company leaders.
Table of Contents
- Executive Summary
- A word on the high-level changes affecting affiliate marketing
- More than half of US consumers are aware of affiliate marketing
- Consumers run into affiliate marketing in many places
- There are significant generational differences in how affiliate ads and content are noticed
- Affiliate content is at parity with other ad formats in consumers’ eyes
- Affiliate content is about as trustworthy as most other kinds of advertising
- Affiliate content is about as influential as most other kinds of advertising
- Consumers see creators as more influential on social
- What it all means
- Methodology
- Interviews
- Media Gallery
Charts in This Report
- Different Generations Encounter Affiliate Content in Different Places (% of US consumers who encounter affiliate ads online, by category/channel, May 2024)
- A Majority of US Consumers Have Noticed Affiliate Ads (% of US consumers, May 2024)
- Social Media and the Web Are the Two Most Common Places People Notice Affiliate Ads (% of US consumers, May 2024)
- Consumers Find Affiliate Ads to Be Among the Least Intrusive (% of US consumers who noticed each ad type and described it as at least "very intrusive," May 2024)
- A Slim Majority of US Consumers Trust Affiliate Ads at Least Sometimes (% of US consumers, May 2024)
- Gen Z Is Far More Likely Than Boomers to Find Affiliate Ads at Least Moderately Influential (% of US consumers, May 2024)
- Publishers Are Much Less Effective at Driving Purchases on Social Than Other Accounts (% of US social media users, March 2024)
Interviewed for This Report
- Li Haslett Chen, Howl - Founder and CEO
- Renee Christensen, Acceleration Partners - Senior Director, Data and Analytics Strategy
- Kerry Curran, RBM Advisors - Founder
- Karen Garcia, Lab6 Media - Partner and CEO
- Wendy L. Herzberg, Kinesso - Vice President, Lead Generation and Partnership Strategy
- Chris Lloyd, StackCommerce - COO
- Lauren Newman, Red Ventures - Executive Vice President, Media and Commerce
- Jim Nichols, Exclamation Marketing Solutions - Founder
- Kristen Pulver, Horizon Media - Vice President, Performance Media