Do you ever find yourself Googling questions like “Should I still invest in affiliate marketing?” or “Can I make money with affiliate marketing in 2024?” Many people do—and we’re going to answer them with some hard facts and stats.
Why You Need to Know the Latest Affiliate Marketing Stats
There are a lot of affiliate marketing statistics and ‘facts’ out there, but many are outdated. It’s important to use the most recent ones, and the newest forecasts are crucial, especially if you'll be using these affiliate marketing industry statistics for strategic decision-making.
Here’s an example: the 2020 pandemic shook up the affiliate market—travel sales dipped while home goods soared, for example. Now, in 2024, as we’ve moved past the pandemic era, market trends have shifted again. Using data from 2020 or before could blur your vision and lead you in the wrong direction or slow down your growth. Moreover, the rise of Artificial Intelligence (AI) has given affiliates advanced tools, changing the way they operate.
Here's a closer look at the recent data and what it tells us about the affiliate marketing world:
1. Growing Market
Statista shows that affiliate marketing is a growing market.
The industry was worth $8.2 billion in 2022, a 10% increase from the year before. It's expected to jump to $21.1 billion in 2024 and reach $15.7 billion by 2024. According to a report by Astute Analytica, it’s going to reach a whopping $36.9 billion by 2030.
2. Rising Interest
Looking at Google Trends, we see more people are getting interested in affiliate marketing. There’s been a steady incline for years, and even 2023 has seen a rise in searches.
3. Orders Through Affiliate Links
Affiliate programs now make up 16% of online orders in the United States as of May 19, 2023, showing how much impact affiliate marketing has on online shopping trends.
4. Investments in Affiliate Marketing
According to the 2023 report ‘The State of Affiliate Marketing’ by Influencer Marketing Hub, there's a lot of financial trust in affiliate marketing. So far, $1.5 billion has been invested in 2023 across 232 rounds, a 15.38% increase compared to the previous year. Specifically, between 2020 and 2022, over $216 million was invested in affiliate marketing software.
5. Worldwide Phenomenon
The same report shows how affiliate services have become worldwide, with 9,600 companies working across continents. As it stands, North America leads the way, hosting nearly half of these services. Asia-Pacific, Europe, and Africa are also catching up.
6. Software Sales and Commissions
In the affiliate world, SaaS affiliate marketing stands out, offering good commissions between 20-70% (although it varies with different products). Finance is also a strong sector, with a stable commission rate of 35-40%, showing how different sectors have different commission structures.
7. Budget Share
In 2021, businesses set aside 9% of their marketing budgets for affiliate marketing, equal to what was set for email marketing. This reflects the growing significance of affiliate marketing, with forecasts indicating a continued surge in spending, expected to reach $13 billion by the end of 2023 solely in the United States, as per Statista's projections.
8. Job Market Movement
According to PayScale, in 2024, an Online Affiliate Marketing Manager can expect an average salary of $63,510. This salary is made up of a base salary, bonuses, profit-sharing, and commissions, which could total anywhere between $45,000 to $99,000.
Effect of Experience on Income
- Entry-level Managers: with less than a year of experience, expect around $48,559 on average.
- Early-career Professionals: with 1 to 4 years of experience, the earnings go up, averaging $56,687.
- Mid-career Managers: with 5 to 9 years of experience, the average income is $73,307.
- Experienced Managers: with 10 to 19 years of experience, the income averages at $73,246.
- On an hourly basis, the average rate is $21.78, showing a rewarding career path in affiliate marketing.
Job Openings
As of September 27, there are 3,729 job listings worldwide matching the keywords ‘affiliate marketing’ on LinkedIn and 6,146 job openings in the US on Indeed with those same keywords.
9. Influencer Involvement
The number of influencers working with affiliate marketing keeps growing. The influencer marketing area grew from $1.7 billion in 2016 to $16.4 billion in 2022, and it's expected to keep growing with more short video content on social platforms.
10. Ad Fraud
Sadly, up to 45% of affiliate traffic is fraudulent. With more digital activity, ad fraud is a concern. It's expected to go from $35 billion in 2018 to a huge $100 billion in 2023 globally, showing a need for strong fraud detection in affiliate marketing.
11. Affiliate Earnings
Around 9% of affiliate marketers earn more than $50,000 a year, showing a wide range of earnings from $10,000 to a huge $400,000 annually.
12. Global Affiliate Activity
The US leads in affiliate marketing, holding 39% of the activities, followed by the UK at 15%, and Germany at 11%. This shows a global acceptance and use of affiliate marketing strategies.
13. Revenue Through Affiliate Marketing
A good 65% of retailers see up to a 20% increase in yearly revenue through affiliate marketing. Nearly 60% of merchants make $5 million or more, showing a lot of revenue potential with good affiliate marketing strategies.
14. B2C vs. B2B
B2C leads in affiliate marketing with a huge 81.4% of affiliates promoting B2C products and services. A smaller 18.6% are into B2B, with a little overlap between the two.
15. Choice of Products
A large portion of affiliate promotion goes to five categories:
- computers and electronics (40%)
- clothing/apparel (41%)
- online services (30%)
- accessories (29%)
- and beauty (28%)
Business and marketing are also notable in the list of products.
16. Traffic Sources
Traffic, the lifeblood of affiliate marketing, mainly comes from SEO (69%), social networks (67%), and blogging (64%), with email marketing now at a 41% traffic share.
17. Mobile Traffic
Mobile affiliate spending saw a big 49% increase YoY, showing a growing area for affiliates to earn more.
18. Networks and Broader Horizons
To maximize earnings, a huge 71% of affiliates work with three or more affiliate networks. This strategy not only increases their earnings but also helps them reach different audience groups and stay updated on market trends.
Which of These Affiliate Marketing Stats Surprised You?
The changes (and growth) in affiliate marketing highlight the need for a solid affiliate tracking platform. These platforms help manage affiliate relationships, track accurately, and provide real-time updates to maximize profits. As affiliate marketing grows, picking the right tracking platform is crucial to staying competitive. Try Rewardful to get started. We offer straightforward pricing and hassle-free tracking and management of your affiliate programs.
