By 2024, affiliate marketing will see an increase in alliances between brand creators, competition between TikTok and Amazon, programmatic opportunities and more, says Rob Davinson, Awin’s Global Head of Content.
Affiliate marketing reflects the broader digital landscape, with macro-level trends resonating in our microcosm. In 2024, we will see emerging trends (artificial intelligence (AI), social commerce and retail media to name a few) that will impact affiliate marketers.
Here we provide an overview of the key changes (and challenges) affiliate marketing is likely to face this year, and what they mean for the industry.
1. The bond between brand creators will increase as social media slows down
As global digital ad spend growth slows (Dentsu predicts only 6.5% growth in 2024, after an all-time low growth year in 2023), and social media is facing a similar slowdown as new user growth At plateaus, brands can combat this by working directly with creators, as influencer marketing is proving to be more resilient than paid social media.
Major brands such as The Body Shop And Walmart are two examples that launched large-scale creator partnership programs in the past year, pairing social awareness with controlled marketing results. We see this trend developing further in 2024, as it not only counters platform-dependent risks, but also benefits influencers looking for stable incomes.
Awin’s platform witnessed a surge of registered influencers (over 10,000) in 2023, predicting continued growth in 2024.
2. TikTok vs. Amazon: The Value of the Affiliate Model Amid New Competition
As major tech giants mature, Amazon is moving from a retail marketplace to an advertising space, while TikTok is evolving from entertainment to a product purchasing platform. This encroachment on each other’s turf is likely to intensify competition, with TikTok adopting an affiliate model that mirrors Amazon’s commercial flywheel.
Both platforms embracing affiliate strategies confirm their effectiveness. Brands can channel more advertising budgets to these tech giants, forcing a choice between entering new marketplaces or driving traffic to their e-commerce sites.
Choosing the latter requires enhancing the shopping experience, supported by connected technology partners, as exemplified by Nike’s livestream shopping partnership with Contester, which enhances the Cyber Era with engaging content on their site.
3. Programmatic challenges will drive affiliate ad spend growth
In 2023, the programmatic advertising industry faced serious challenges, as reported in the ANAs Programmatic research on supply chain transparency in the media. Among the findings was the fact that there is $22 billion in waste in the $88 billion programmatic supply chain.
Advertisers often struggle with misaligned incentives, prioritizing cost over value, resulting in reduced ad quality. In contrast, affiliate marketing’s performance model, which links ad spend to tangible results such as sales, is proving more valuable.
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It says a lot that global spending on affiliate marketing is estimated to have been around last year $14 billiona third less than was wasted on programmatic. As senior marketers take a closer look at their budgets this year, the data suggests that affiliate marketing should receive more attention for its effectiveness.
4. News and media publishers will use affiliate commerce content
In 2024, with a record number of global elections, including the US presidential election 40 national electionspolitical interest will drive traffic to news media sites.
Despite higher forecasts for ad spend, news publishers may not see increased revenue due to past issues with programmatic display advertising. Affiliate channels provide a solution for publishers facing declining ad revenue and brand blocking.
Additionally, major sporting events such as the European Football Championships and the Paris Olympics promise increased traffic, creating opportunities for partners’ efforts to offset advertising revenue challenges and increase the value of journalism amid growing demand.
5. The AI revolution in search will threaten affiliate long tail
When it comes to online, the importance of high search rankings in Google is of utmost importance. As the old saying (meme caption) goes, “The best place to hide a dead body is page 2 of Google search results.”
Google’s search console, which has shaped our online information-seeking behavior for two decades, is facing challenges due to Google’s monetization motives and emerging AI-powered search consoles such as ChatGPT. These AI consoles provide instant answers, reduce dependency on external links, and transform the traditional internet ecosystem.
Google’s Seeking Generative Experience (SGE) introduces AI-generated comments, which may reduce organic traffic to publisher websites. Publishers have limited options: allow crawling for SGE or risk exclusion from Google Search. SEO compliance with the EEAT values is becoming critical for publishers navigating this transformative shift, highlighting the need for the affiliate industry to adapt and maintain audience-focused effectiveness.
6. The resurgence of travel will inspire pop culture-inspired travel and the growth of affiliates
While some predicted that the travel industry would almost die out after the 2019 lockdown, the travel industry is booming as 2024 begins.
IATA predicts set to surpass 2019’s travel record this year, with 4.7 billion people expected to board airlines in 2024. Awin is seeing an increase in partner-driven travel bookings, a trend that will continue as consumer confidence rises, airline capacity grows and major events drive demand.
Expedia and Amadeus predict an important year for experiential tourism (think… set-jetting And music festivals). Affiliates play a crucial role in the complex shopper journey, providing inspiration, comparisons and personalized options.
Brand partnerships, where one advertiser promotes another as part of the customer’s booking experience, will flourish in 2023. Travel brands are well poised to capitalize on this growth with many potential match-ups from other brands eager to capitalize on consumers’ resurgent wanderlust.
7. As cheap fashion challenges sustainability efforts, green affiliates will emerge
Despite Cop28 crucial agreement To switch from fossil fuels, the inertia around climate change remains. In 2024, the rise of ultra-fast fashion platforms like Shein and Temu, fueled by the TikTok trend of buy cheap dupescontributes to the growing fashion in landfills.
Even when it comes to Amazon, Teemu users spend almost double the time compared to Amazon, prompting the e-commerce giant to reduce costs for clothing under $20. However, some affiliates continue to promote conscious consumer choices in innovative ways. Examples include Reforest, planting trees for site visits, and Axon Mobile, which encourages environmentally friendly commuting. And another new, promising solution for 2024 is led by Birlwho introduce the circular economy to e-commerce through their smart resale system.
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