Observed Signal · Jan 17, 2025 · Industry Trend Report · Source: OnlineMarketing.de · Impact: 3/5 · Sentiment: Positive
Top Affiliate Marketing Trends 2025
Affiliate Marketing 2025 centers on AI-driven capabilities, new tracking approaches, and evolving publisher models. Despite economic headwinds, advertisers anticipate continued growth: 68% expect rising affiliate revenues in 2025, and 45% already reported growth in 2024. The channel remains a key part of the online marketing mix for 81% of firms. The report highlights AI as a major driver, with 69% of ad partners, 68% of agencies/networks, and 58% of advertisers viewing AI as a key innovation factor, and widespread use of AI tools for content creation, personalization, and customer journey optimization (68% of advertisers and 93% of affiliates). As cookie-based tracking fades, the industry shifts to first-party and server-to-server methods; 49% have switched and 26% plan to switch in 2025. Networks like Awin and Admitad are piloting probabilistic models to counter tracking losses. Growth areas include social commerce, influencer marketing, and CSS models improving Google Shopping visibility.
Industry-wide trends in Affiliate Marketing 2025 with AI, tracking shifts, and publisher models; moderate to high impact on AdTech/MarTech.
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Key Takeaways & Evidence Grounding
- 68% of advertisers expect rising affiliate revenue in 2025.
- 45% of advertisers reported rising affiliate revenue in 2024.
- 81% of companies consider Affiliate Marketing essential in the online marketing mix.
- 49% of advertisers have switched to first-party tracking; 26% plan to switch in 2025.
- 52% of affiliates view tracking losses as a central challenge.
Connected Companies & Entities
3 Entities mappedOntology Mapping & Concepts
Related Market Signals & Shifts
Recent verified developments and strategic activity across this market segment.
Affiliate Marketing 2026: Trends, AI, Generative Search
The Affiliate Trend Report 2026 analyzes input from over 1,200 advertisers, affiliates, agencies, networks, and technology providers. It finds a positive outlook for 2026: 62% of advertisers expect rising affiliate revenues, and 71% view Affiliate Marketing as one of their top revenue drivers. Artificial intelligence is the core accelerator, with 88% of advertisers naming AI as the most important topic for 2026. In practice, AI is deeply embedded in content creation (advertisers 78%, affiliates 84%), automated reporting (53%), and publisher workflow. Generative search and Social Commerce are key growth engines, with about 41% expecting AI-enabled shopping touchpoints to influence the customer journey and influencer/creator-driven formats increasing in prominence (to 43%). The study also notes shifts to first‑party data, hybrid compensation models, and more strategic tracking (including CLV awareness at 59%). Overall, Affiliate Marketing is becoming a more strategic, crisis-resistant channel tied to evolving search, platforms, and commerce dynamics.
Affiliate Marketing 2026: AI-Driven Growth Meets Stability
The "Affiliate Trend-Report 2026" (MAI Xpose360 with Affiliateblog) finds affiliate marketing remaining a stable performance channel while undergoing AI-driven change. Based on a survey of 1,200 affiliates, advertisers, agencies, networks and tech providers, respondents report revenue growth (54% saw increases in 2025; 62% expect growth in 2026) and rate the channel as important or very important (78%). The study highlights widespread AI adoption (81% use AI tools for content, reporting and publisher acquisition), a shift in traffic toward generative search and social commerce, rising importance of influencer/social publishers, and greater use of first-party and server-to-server tracking with focus on customer-journey analysis, CRM integration and CLV models. Markus Kellermann, CMO of MAI Group, comments on the sector’s fundamental transformation and continued stability.
GreenCore Solutions Opens London Office for A2A-Grocery Agentic Commerce
GreenCore Solutions Corp. (GSC) announced the opening of a sales office in London, UK, under a new entity, GreenCore Solutions (UK), to support its agentic commerce hub, A2A-Grocery.co.uk. The company introduced its 0-100 Agentic Density Scale, indicating that the UK and Europe account for 84% of grocery makers, while the USA accounts for only 16%. GSC's AI agents have processed 100 million transactions year-to-date, with 40% from Europe, 20% from the USA, and 40% from the rest of the world. The London office aims to connect European makers with AI agents buying for grocery retailers across 20 markets. GSC operates on Microsoft Azure and Google Cloud Enterprise, with data residency in each market.
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