The Affiliate Marketing Trends 2021: Increasing sales and an alternative to GAFA
 |
75 percent of merchants expect more sales from affiliate marketing in 2021. The Trend Report 2021 from xpose360 and AffilliateBLOG.de provides these and other exciting insights on the industry.
Affiliate marketing is despite major challenges in 2021 will experience a further upswing. The merchants are not only assuming increasing sales. This form of advertising is also seen as a central alternative to marketing measures on Google, Apple, Facebook, and Amazon. 63 percent of the 1,050 affiliates, merchants, and agencies/networks/technologies surveyed said this. These forecasts come from the new Affiliate Marketing Trend Report 2021, which the digital marketing agency xpose360 created in cooperation with the industry portal AffiliateBLOG.de.
The most important trends and developments in affiliate marketing: Hardly any negative effects of the corona pandemic
Most of the affiliates and merchants can look back on 2020 positively. 63 percent of merchants invested additional budget in affiliate marketing or shifted budgets to this channel in the past year. 79 percent said that their sales had developed positively in 2020. This also applies to 83 percent of the affiliates. In terms of agencies/networks/technologies, 95 percent of those surveyed were able to report increased sales in 2020. In 2019, significantly fewer respondents reported an increase in sales in the three areas, around 61 percent for merchants.
Only 13 percent of merchants noticed negative effects on affiliate sales due to the pandemic in 2020. For agencies/networks/technologies it was only seven percent, and for affiliates, it was only four percent. The changed purchasing behavior of users has given the industry a boost that should continue in 2021. For example, 75 percent of merchants and agencies/networks/technologies expect sales to continue to rise in 2021. For affiliates, the figure is 72 percent. Markus Kellermann, Managing Director of xpose360 GmbH, rates the current development of the affiliate industry as follows:
The increasing sales forecast for 2021 by all those involved, as well as sales growth in 2020, is still very positive. It shows that affiliate marketing as a performance channel will also benefit enormously from the pandemic in 2021, as companies are performance-oriented in the crisis Marketing channels have come to appreciate enormously and advertising budgets have also been shifted from other marketing channels such as branding or out-of-home in favor of performance marketing, which is more scalable in times of crisis. […] And the topic of data protection and regulations will remain an important topic in affiliate marketing in 2021 and the adaptation of the Telecommunications Telemedia Data Protection Act (TTDSG), the currently open ePrivacy Regulation
Cookie consent for the trending topics next to mobile traffic and tracking above
With 59 percent, affiliates consider the biggest trend in 2021 to be the increasing importance of cookie consent tools with which a user opt-in for cookies can be obtained. For 55 percent, the further increase in mobile traffic is also a trend, followed by the further development of the e-privacy problem (36 percent), the increasingly difficult placement of affiliate pages on Google (32 percent), and the increasing number of cookies -Regulations by browser providers (27 percent).
For merchants, customer journey tracking and attribution in particular are trending topics. With 54 percent (compared to 32 percent last year) it is in first place in this group. The e-privacy problem (50 percent), cookie consent tools (48 percent), social media as a growing traffic provider (42 percent), and cross-device tracking (38 percent) are also relevant topics.
In the case of agencies/news organizations and technologies, on the other hand, the e-privacy problem (64 percent) is very popular in the trend area, and cookie constent tools are also a relevant topic (for 57 percent).
The biggest challenges for the affiliate industry
In 2021, an overarching problem moved to number one of the challenges facing the industry: 61 percent of affiliates complain that tracking is not transparent and does not work properly. This challenge could be related to the problem that 57 percent of affiliates see with cookie consent and user opt-in. Such uncertainties in tracking mean that 52 percent of affiliates see low commissions as another major problem.
Affiliates’ wish list includes more transparency and insights into the tracking logic (61 percent) and secure tracking (57 percent) as well as generally higher commissions (50 percent). The first two points have increased in relevance compared to last year, but the desire for higher commissions has increased again significantly (in 2020 still in sixth place with 36 percent).
The desire for more appreciation on the part of the merchants also remains – 48 percent of the affiliates stated this. In addition, 27 percent would like more support and personal contact with the merchant. At least one wish was heard: In the meantime, 71 percent of merchants stated that they offer mobile advertising material. Last year it was only 36 percent.
It remains difficult when it comes to cross-device tracking. This year, 46 percent of merchants said they didn’t use any. In the current survey, only twelve percent of merchants stated that they use comprehensive cross-device tracking to measure sales and leads across devices, even though the mobile share of affiliate sales has increased enormously in recent years.
Dangers for affiliate marketing: The e-privacy regulation is at the top
A possible ePrivacy regulation is viewed critically by the affiliate industry. 47 percent of agencies/networks/technologies, 50 percent of merchants, and even 68 percent of affiliates see this as a danger to affiliate marketing.
With 74 percent of the affiliates, around three-quarters of the respondents in this area also rate consent management tools for cookie opt-ins as a possible threat. And currently, only 52 percent of affiliates have implemented a consent layer. In the case of merchants, on the other hand, it is already 88 percent – only 21 percent of whom stated that this had a negative impact on affiliate sales.
The most important publisher models for 2021
First place as the most important publisher model from the merchants’ point of view is shared by content pages and cashback and bonus platforms with 58 percent each. The content pages are also in first place among agencies/networks/technologies with 62 percent, but cashback/bonus in third place with 56 percent. In second place from the point of view of the agencies/networks/technologies are the deal pages with 58 percent, these are also in front from the point of view of the merchants (second place with 46 percent). There is an agreement between the two groups regarding the fourth place. It is occupied by voucher pages, shared with the price comparators from the point of view of the agencies/networks/technologies.
Compared to the 2020 survey, content and deal pages could easily gain in importance. Price comparison options will be given less importance by merchants for 2021. Last year they were in fourth place with 52 percent, this year they have fallen to eighth place with only 21 percent.
Growth potential for 2021: better tracking and new affiliates
70 percent of affiliates named better tracking as the greatest growth potential for 2021 in order to make all sales measurable. This is followed by commission increases (65 percent) and additional budgets in the form of WKZ (advertising subsidies) or alternative remuneration models (61 percent).
Merchants and agencies/networks/technologies agree that new affiliates (54 percent and 59 percent respectively) and campaigns with affiliates (52 percent and 60 percent respectively) hold the greatest potential for growth. Customer journey tracking is also important because it can measure the value of affiliates: 46 percent of merchants see growth potential through it and 43 percent see agencies/networks/technologies.
These are the central network solutions used in the industry
With regard to the use of private networks and the use of several networks, little has changed compared to last year. Around half of the merchants use a private network and around two-thirds prefer to only use one network. As before (75 percent), the reason for using a private network is mainly due to the cost reduction in network charges.
Affiliate marketing as a relevant channel in the online marketing mix
Last year, 39 percent of affiliates said they wanted to switch their monetization. This proportion has now fallen to 26 percent. Despite the challenges that legal regulations and browser settings brought with them. 63 percent of merchants also state that affiliate marketing is a good alternative to GAFA platforms for them. Eight percent even said that affiliate marketing is just as important to them or that it is a good addition.
For 2020, 46 percent of merchants stated that affiliate marketing takes between five and ten percent of total online sales. For 21 percent of merchants, sales through affiliate marketing are even between ten and 15 percent. For twelve percent, the proportion is between 15 and 20 percent, while for seven percent of merchants it is over 20 percent.
These figures make it clear how important affiliate marketing continues to be in online marketing. You can read more about this in the current Affiliate Marketing Trend Report 2021, including all relevant analyzes and the complete survey results. The comprehensive report and its information are available from Xpose360. Finally, Markus Kellermann gives the affiliate industry a tip:
Providers who deal more intensively with the topics of cross-device and customer journey tracking will achieve a market advantage over their competitors in 2021, because on the merchant side, the battle for the best placements and the affiliates with the greatest reach will be subject to ever fierce competitive pressure. Therefore, the trend towards hybrid commission models will continue to prevail and further establish itself in 2021 and there will be more media kits from affiliates with fixed prices for special placements and additional reach advertising. Affiliate marketing will continue to grow in 2021 and gain market share in the online marketing mix. Nevertheless, the industry must endeavor to drive innovations further and quickly adapt to new situations.
source http://ostatus.org/2021/07/13/the-affiliate-marketing-trends-2021-increasing-sales-and-an-alternative-to-gafa/
Comments
Post a Comment