Just-released research from the Performance Marketing Association and London Research reveals that US affiliate marketing spending soared to $13.63 billion in 2024, an impressive 49.8% gain from the $9.1 billion recorded in 2021.

Affiliate marketing spending has more than doubled since 2018, when the equivalent figure stood at just $6.2 billion. This acceleration reflects the industry's evolution from a niche marketing tactic to a mainstream revenue driver that commands serious attention from major brands and emerging direct-to-consumer businesses.

Growth Outpaces Broader Ecommerce Market

The affiliate marketing sector's expansion has significantly outpaced the broader ecommerce landscape. While US online sales grew by a still impressive 25% over the same three-year period, affiliate marketing experienced a surge of 49.8%. This strong growth trend highlights the channel's increasing effectiveness and the growing confidence brands place in performance-based marketing.

According to the study, affiliates now drive $113B in sales across all industries, or 9.4% of all e-commerce sales. The channel drives an estimated 15% of sales for brands participating in the strategy.

The robust growth demonstrates that affiliate marketing has transcended its traditional role as a supplementary marketing channel. Brands increasingly view it as an essential component of their digital marketing mix, particularly as they seek alternatives to the rising costs and decreasing effectiveness of traditional paid advertising channels dominated by Google, Meta, Amazon, and ByteDance.

Publisher Community Undergoes Dramatic Transformation

The report shows that the affiliate marketing ecosystem has become substantially more diverse, with traditional publisher categories evolving and new ones emerging to capture market share.

Cashback and Loyalty Sites Maintain Top Honors

Cashback, loyalty, and rewards websites maintain their position as the largest publisher category, accounting for 35% of total affiliate spending. However, the landscape has shifted considerably beneath this stable headline figure. Coupon, voucher, and rebate websites have seen some reduction in their share, dropping from 16% to 10% of total spend since 2021. This six-percentage-point decrease represents a fundamental shift in how consumers interact with affiliate offers and how brands allocate their marketing investments.

Traditional Coupon Sites Face Challenges

Coupon, voucher, and rebate websites have seen some reduction in their share, dropping from 16% to 10% of total spend since 2021. This six-percentage-point decrease represents a fundamental shift in how consumers interact with affiliate offers and how brands allocate their marketing investments. The decline of traditional coupon sites may reflect several market forces. Many coupon sites have shifted toward loyalty models, recognizing the superior long-term value of building customer relationships over facilitating one-time discount transactions. Additionally, the rise of card-linked offers has simplified the shopping experience for consumers while providing brands with more sophisticated tracking and attribution capabilities.

Content Publishers Navigate Algorithmic Challenges

The content publisher segment has experienced perhaps the most dramatic transformation within the affiliate marketing ecosystem. A significant reversal has occurred between bloggers and established media companies, likely revealing the impact of major Google platform changes on publisher success.

Concerns about Google policy changes and the increasing integration of AI into search results are widespread. In a survey of publishers, 52% reported being "very concerned" about these impacts. These concerns extend far beyond the content sector, where many believe the impacts have been greatest so far.

Independent Bloggers Gain Market Share

Bloggers have increased their share of content affiliate spending from 34% to 42%, while major media companies and publishing houses have seen their portion decline from 46% to 35%. This shift represents more than just changing market dynamics; it reflects the seismic impact of Google's algorithm updates throughout 2024.

Google's Site Reputation Abuse policy changes, introduced in March 2024, have particularly affected major publishers. The policy penalizes sites publishing third-party content when Google believes they leverage the host site's domain authority without adding sufficient value. This algorithmic shift has reduced traffic for major sites, particularly in the news category, while creating greater opportunities for independent bloggers and niche content publishers to pick up more affiliate investment.

Technology Solutions Drive Innovation

The technology solutions category has emerged as a significant growth driver, expanding from 5% to 7% of total affiliate spending. This increase reflects the rapid adoption of innovative approaches to affiliate marketing, particularly in the Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) segment.

BNPL has become the largest affiliate marketing tech subcategory, growing from 37% to 45% of tech affiliate spending. This growth reflects the broader adoption of flexible payment options by consumers and demonstrates how affiliate marketing adapts to evolving shopping behaviors. The BNPL phenomenon has created new opportunities for both merchants and affiliates to capture consumers who might otherwise abandon their purchases due to immediate payment constraints.

Card-linked offers represent another emerging technology category, accounting for 5% of tech affiliate spending. These solutions eliminate friction in the affiliate experience by automatically applying rewards and cash back directly to consumers' payment cards, eliminating the need for coupon codes or separate checkout processes.

Comparison Sites Gain Traction

Comparison websites have experienced notable growth, increasing their share from 2% to 6% of total affiliate spending. This expansion reflects the increasingly price-conscious consumer environment and the growing sophistication of comparison platforms.

Premium review sites have particularly benefited from this trend, with many investing heavily in extensive product evaluation teams and maintaining a clear separation between editorial and commercial functions. This approach has helped them build trust with consumers while providing valuable guidance in an increasingly crowded marketplace.

Social and Influencer Marketing Shows Momentum

The social, influencer, and creator category has shown steady growth, expanding from 8% to 9% of total affiliate spending. While this increase may appear modest, it likely underrepresents the true scale of influencer affiliate marketing, as many influencer programs operate outside traditional affiliate marketing platforms and networks.

The continued growth in this category reflects the ongoing evolution of social commerce and the increasing sophistication of influencer marketing programs. Brands recognize that social creators often provide more authentic connections with their audiences compared to traditional advertising approaches.

Industry Outlook is Optimistic

Despite facing significant challenges, particularly around tracking accuracy and platform algorithm changes, affiliate publishers remain overwhelmingly optimistic about their business prospects. Survey data from the study shows that publishers are more than three times more likely to express optimism (54%) than pessimism (17%) about their growth prospects over the next year.

The affiliate marketing industry's rapid growth and evolving publisher landscape demonstrate its continued maturation as a critical component of digital commerce. As brands seek more accountable and performance-driven marketing approaches, the combination of measurable results and diverse publisher options in affiliate marketing positions it for continued expansion in the years ahead.

About the Study

The Performance Marketing Association contracted with London Research to field the study, which was based on data from eight major networks (Ascend by Partnerize, Awin, CJ, Everflow, LinkConnector, Partnerize, Rakuten Advertising, and ShareASale). They also surveyed a cross-section of the publisher community to collect insights on publisher sentiment. You can download a copy at no charge at the PMA website.