30+ Eye-Opening Affiliate Marketing Statistics [2023 List]

Looking for the latest affiliate marketing statistics for 2023? Your search ends here.

Affiliate marketing is a billion-dollar industry.

Did you know that Google searches related to affiliate marketing have increased SIX times in the last couple of years?

Affiliate marketing is also the MAJOR income source for nearly 40% of marketers worldwide. The blog you’re reading now generates over $18,000 every month and most of that income comes from affiliate marketing. You can check out our blog income reports for more details.

So if you’re looking for fascinating affiliate marketing stats and facts, this post is just for you.

Let’s get into the details without much ado.

Affiliate Marketing Statistics 2023: A Look at the Latest Stats

Affiliate Marketing Growth Statistics

1. Is affiliate marketing dying?

No, it’s NOT. In fact, its popularity is growing rapidly.

Google searches for “Affiliate Marketing” went up six times between 2015–2023

Have a look at the Google Trends report for the term;

If you want to get more sales, check out these insider affiliate marketing tips.

2. Is affiliate marketing beneficial for brands?

Yes, affiliate marketing is the most crucial customer acquisition channel for 20% of brand marketers, and 54% rank it among their top three customer acquisition channels. (Source: PepperJam)

3. What is the global digital ad spending forecast?

Global digital ad spending will reach 876 billion dollars by 2026, according to Statista.

As affiliate marketing becomes increasingly popular, most companies and influencers invest in affiliate programs, leading to growth in digital ad spend.

4. Is Amazon affiliate marketing dead or growing?

Amazon affiliate program (also known as Amazon Associates) is multiplying.

In the last 5 years, Amazon Associates’ popularity has increased thrice. (Source: Google Trends)

As you can see above, Google searches for “Amazon Associates” have almost tripled worldwide in the past five years. 

5. Is affiliate marketing in demand?

Yes, it is. According to a survey done by Rakuten, almost 81% of advertisers and 84% of publishers use affiliate marketing.

Affiliate Marketing Industry Statistics

1. What percentage of online retailers use affiliate marketing?

Affiliate marketing accounts for 16% of all online orders in the US, making it one of the four most significant sources of eCommerce orders. 

This percentage is expected to grow with increased demand for online orders and special discounts from online stores like Amazon, eBay, etc.

2. How has the pandemic impacted the growth of the affiliate marketing industry?

During the Covid-19 pandemic worldwide, 56% of affiliate marketers and agencies increased their revenue.

This is probably due to the overall growth in eCommerce orders worldwide. Most countries were on lockdown, and people had to rely on online stores like Amazon, eBay, etc., for groceries, essentials, etc.

3. What percentage of companies have an affiliate program?

81% of brands around the world have affiliate programs.

More and more companies and brands rely upon affiliates because 15% of the total revenue generated in eCommerce comes from affiliate marketing programs. (Source: Zippia)

4. What are the top affiliate marketing niches?

Fashion is the BIGGEST affiliate marketing niche, with a 23.27% share. The fashion industry is followed by Sports & Outdoors (18.16%), Health/Wellness & Beauty (13.81%), Travel (10.74%), and Home & Garden (8.7%). (Zippia)

In case you’re wondering, the global fashion industry is valued at $1.7 trillion, and the United States fashion industry is valued at over $370 billion.

5. How many people use affiliate links?

Zippia reports that affiliate links receive over a whopping 5 billion clicks per year.

These clicks result in consumers making over 170 million online transactions, with an average conversion rate of 3.40%.

So yes, affiliate links convert into sales if used right.

New to affiliate marketing? Read this free guide to learn how to make money with affiliate marketing.

6. Which is the fastest-growing industry in affiliate marketing?

The fastest-growing product category for affiliate marketing is toys, with a whopping 109% growth.

If you’re looking for trending niches, you should definitely check out the “Toys” niche, as it’s extremely popular in many countries. 

7. Do influencers use affiliate marketing?

Yes, 59% of companies worldwide use influencers as affiliates to promote their products, increase sales, drive more traffic, and grow their brand.

If you’re an influencer with a decent social media or blog following, you can talk to affiliate product vendors to get access to special discounts and better commissions. 

Generate Stats on Affiliate Marketing

Here are a few interesting miscellaneous stats. 

1. Do mobile-friendly websites help with more sales?

Yes. According to Statcounter, 58.57% of web traffic came from mobile, compared with 39.35% desktop and 2.08% tablet.

2. What percentage of customer research before purchasing online?

Think With Google reports that 53% of shoppers constantly research before they buy to get the best deals online. 

Also, 83% of U.S. shoppers who visited a store last week said they searched online before purchasing something.

If you’re running an online store or affiliate marketer, educate your audience about the products you promote. Offer special discounts or incentives because they help you with sales. 

3. What percentage of affiliates promote B2C products?

Over 81% of affiliates promote B2C products or services (Source: AffStat)

AffStat reports that the top 5 categories most affiliates promote are computer and electronics (40%), clothing (41%), online services (30%), accessories (29%), and beauty (28%).

4. What is the biggest coupon website?

Groupon is one of the biggest coupon websites in the world as it has an annual revenue of over $1 billion, and its number of users peaked at over 50 million, according to Statista.

5. What percentage of customers rely on reviews?

93% of customers have made purchasing decisions based upon an online review (Source: Podium)

Affiliate Marketing Stats for Publishers

Are you a publisher? Running a blog or website? Here are some exciting affiliate marketing stats you need to know.

1. What are the top affiliate marketing networks?

Here are some of the BIGGEST affiliate networks:

• Amazon Associates: 900,000+ publishers
• ShareASale: 700,000+ publishers
• Awin: 241,000+ publishers
• ClickBank: 100,000+ publishers

2. How many publishers use affiliate marketing as their income source?

Almost 94% of publishers join two or more affiliate programs, while 39% and 20% of publishers use 3+ affiliate marketing programs.

3. What products pay lucrative affiliate commissions?

Influencer Marketing Hub reports that SaaS (Software as a Service) products pay up to 70% hefty commissions.

4. Is affiliate marketing a significant income source for publishers?

Yes, 31% of publishers say that affiliate marketing is one of their top three sources of income. For 9%, affiliate marketing is the #1 revenue source. (Source: eMarketer)

As a side note, affiliate marketing is our top income source from BloggersPassion. The future of affiliate marketing is excellent. 

Last year, i.e., 2022, we generated over $226,000 from the blog you’re currently reading. Most of that revenue is generated from selling affiliate products like Semrush.

In case you’re curious, here’s one of our affiliate earning reports;

You can find more details in our Semrush affiliate program review.

5. What is the average conversion rate of affiliate marketing? 

Affiliate marketing’s average conversion rate is between 0.5% to 1%. That means if 1000 people click on your affiliate link, at least 5 to 10 people will purchase something.

6. How do most publishers generate affiliate commissions?

Awin reports that content and blogs generate almost 40% of affiliate publisher commissions in the U.S.

7. What are the top traffic sources for most affiliates?

75% of affiliate marketers list social media as their top traffic source, while 70% of marketers believe SEO is their top traffic source. Blogging and email marketing are the other primary traffic sources for most affiliates. 

8. Do coupons and vouchers work for affiliates to generate more sales?

Yes, 51% of affiliate marketers earned their commissions through coupons, cashback, loyalty programs, and vouchers in 2022.

9. What is the average ROI of affiliate marketing?

The average ROI of affiliate marketing ad spending is 12:1 across all industries. That means, for every $1 spent on affiliate ads, $12 revenue was generated. (Source: Affiliamate)

Affiliate Marketing Facts

Here are a few fantastic affiliate marketing facts you need to know as a marketer in 2023.

1. What is the affiliate marketing global market size?

The global market for affiliate marketing will grow to $39.8 billion by 2031 from just over $20 billion in 2022. (Source: Astute Analytica)

2. What is the biggest affiliate network?

Amazon’s affiliate program is one of the most popular affiliate networks in the world. As of 2023, it’s the top affiliate marketing network, with over 900,000 affiliates. It currently has more than 20% market share. 

3. How much does ad fraud cost?

Statista reports that digital advertising fraud worldwide will reach 100 billion U.S. dollars by 2023.

It also states that digital ads are traded programmatically, and fraud detection processes are not yet fully developed. That’s why digital ad fraud is exponentially growing across the world.

4. Is Awin a good affiliate network?

Yes, Awin is a trusted affiliate network for both publishers and advertisers. In the last year, Awin reports that it generated over $16 billion in revenue for its advertisers and over $1.3 billion for its publishers across the world. 

5. Which payment model is used in affiliate marketing?

99% of affiliate programs offer a CPA payment model (Source: IAB UK)

In case you don’t know, CPA stands for Cost Per Action, which simply means that affiliates earn a commission for each action a customer takes (such as purchasing a product). 

FAQs | Affiliate Marketing Statistics and Trends

Here are some FAQs around affiliate marketing, its stats, trends, and facts.

Few More Interesting Resources:

Final thoughts on affiliate marketing industry statistics

So what’s the future trend of affiliate marketing? The stats mentioned above show that affiliate marketing is growing rapidly.

Almost everyone benefits from affiliate marketing, including product vendors and publishers. If you’re a marketer, use the stats mentioned on this page to create a solid strategy to grow your sales.

What are your thoughts on stats around affiliate marketing? Have any questions? Let us know in the comments.