Retailers across the U.S. are tightening budgets and looking for ways to optimize operations amid ongoing economic uncertainty. Online advertising is getting particular attention because of increasing costs. For example, the price per lead of search ads increased by 25% last year alone.
With tighter budgets and evolving consumer behavior, how do you make the most of your advertising dollars and still outperform the competition? Let’s break down what a strong online advertising strategy looks like in 2025 — and why affiliate marketing should be in your playbook.
The importance of holistic advertising for retail
If you think traditional advertising methods, such as Google Ads alone, still suffice, then it’s time for a reality check. The retail market is more competitive than ever, so it’s essential to consider that the more touchpoints you have with consumers, the better. While effective, traditional advertising tactics don’t address every stage of the customer journey and don’t meet customers where they’re exploring products today.
Up to 36.8% of American online consumers shopped through social media platforms last year — mainly Facebook, TikTok Shop and Instagram. Additionally, over 40% of consumers in 2024 leaned on third-party review sites such as Yelp to help them make purchasing decisions.
Not only do you need to ensure they’re everywhere customers are shopping, but they need to capitalize on every stage of the buying journey, as each is an opportunity to help achieve their goals. Retailers should be asking strategic questions, such as:
- Is my marketing campaign effective, and is it reaching the right audience?
- Which product lines are landing the best and with whom?
- What technology can I lean on to increase my average basket value?
- How can I incentivize customer reviews?
- How can I drive greater customer loyalty and keep them coming back?
Answering these questions can be extremely daunting, especially for retailers facing reduced budgets and economic pressures. Fortunately, an advertising tactic exists to do just that and more.
Dig deeper: As retail evolves, so too do physical stores and retail tech
How an affiliate program can check all the boxes
Enter affiliate marketing, a scalable strategic partnership development in which the advertiser partners with publishers to promote and sell its products. The tactic is innately cost-effective since it is performance-based, meaning brands only pay if their partners successfully achieve an agreed-upon result.
That result usually involves increasing sales, driving clicks or referring traffic to the retailer’s website. By tracking each partner’s performance, brands can:
- Directly measure the profitability of their advertising efforts.
- Make necessary adjustments to their approach to ensure a strong ROI.
Affiliate marketing is an easy way to build your brand’s presence online. It lets you work with a wide range of publishers in different corners of a consumer’s online shopping experience, including:
- Social media influencers.
- Online media outlets.
- Review sites.
- And more.
Once you establish an extensive network of affiliate publishers, there are a multitude of opportunities to implement strategies and drive customer behaviors to help you meet (and even surpass) your marketing goals.
For example, during the pre-purchase phase, affiliate partners can support your campaigns to:
- Draw consumers to your website.
- Test new product rollouts, target audiences, regions, messaging, etc.
Affiliates can also help with conversion by being trustworthy endorsers of products and offering exclusive discounts upon purchase.
Post-sale, affiliates can:
- Encourage customer reviews.
- Increase brand loyalty through their ongoing promotion.
An affiliate program is more than a channel. It’s a robust, effective marketing strategy to grow your business.
Too much advertising spend today is still concentrated on traditional, inflexible marketing methods like SEM. Adding affiliates to your marketing toolbox will be a game-changer if you want to maximize your ad budgets.
Dig deeper: Despite challenges, marketers say retail media is the channel of choice
Consider an affiliate network
While you can set up a program manually, affiliate networks are available to streamline the process significantly. These platforms are the manager between brands and their partners.
Once a brand is established on an affiliate network, it’ll be instantly visible to an extensive list of potential publishers. The brand has ultimate control over:
- Which publishers to welcome into their program.
- The ability to establish economics with their partners tied to their marketing goals — whether that’s converting customers, driving traffic to their site or other outcomes.
Once joined, the publisher will have access to various texts and creatives they can leverage to promote products or offers and can receive commission payments directly through the platform.
In addition to helping foster and manage partnerships, affiliate networks support advertisers with in-depth daily reporting. The platforms can track the performance of individual publishers on a retailer’s behalf and provide regular data and analysis of buying journeys to help brands understand how customers interact with their products. Some platforms also offer industry benchmarking so brands can stay in tune with their competitors and use it as an opportunity to develop a more robust and strategic plan.
Whether you leverage a network or build a program from scratch, affiliate marketing is the most effective way to optimize your online advertising in the remainder of 2025 and beyond. In a shaky economy, the tactic is no longer optional. It’s your edge.
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