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retail affiliate programs

Retail Affiliate Programs in 2025: What Brands Need to Know

Affiliate marketing isn’t just a “nice to have” for retailers in 2025—it’s a core growth channel. With better tracking, smarter creators, and a shift toward performance-based spend, retail affiliate programs are delivering stronger ROI than many paid ad channels.

Affiliate marketing has become a staple strategy for retail brands looking to drive measurable growth. In 2025, with advanced tracking tools, growing creator ecosystems, and a shifting consumer landscape, retail affiliate programs are more relevant and powerful than ever. And let’s be honest—who doesn’t want results they only pay for when they actually happen?

Whether you’re an e-commerce brand or a retailer expanding online, affiliate marketing offers a scalable way to boost traffic, increase revenue, and expand reach without paying upfront ad costs. Here’s everything retail brands need to know to succeed this year. Let your audience come to you, guided by creators they already trust.

Table of Contents

Key Highlights

  • A retail affiliate program is a performance-based program made by a retail brand to promote the brand’s products with the help of affiliates.

  • Affiliate marketing works especially well for online retailers looking to expand profitably.

  • Retailers track performance and pay commissions based on successful actions.

  • If you want real results without the hassle, partnering with an agency saves time and ensures quality.

  • It’s one of the few channels where you can grow fast, without draining your budget first.

What Are Retail Affiliate Programs?

A retail affiliate program is a performance-based program made by a retail brand to promote the brand’s products with the help of affiliates (publishers, influencers, content creators, etc). In return for a sale, lead, or install, affiliates earn a commission. Think of it as a win-win: they drive traffic, you drive conversions, and everyone profits.

Retailers provide affiliates with unique tracking links or promo codes. Affiliates share these through their source of traffic, blogs, YouTube videos, Instagram posts, TikTok, email newsletters, etc. When a customer clicks and converts, the affiliate gets rewarded, and the retailer gains a customer. 

Many retailers also choose to partner with affiliate agencies or networks to scale their program, manage partnerships, and optimize performance. These agencies bring access to a wide network of trusted publishers and offer tools for tracking, reporting, fraud protection, and campaign management, making affiliate marketing more efficient and data-driven. At Yep Ads, we specialize in and have hands-on experience with enterprise retail brands. We’ve helped thousands of retailers turn affiliates into one of their top-performing channels.

The best affiliate programs—especially when supported by experienced affiliate agencies—can become a powerful and cost-effective channel for driving incremental revenue. The best affiliate programs can be a great way to add additional revenue.

Why Retailers Love Affiliate Marketing in 2025

  • Affiliate marketing has grown 83% since 2017, and retail brands are reaping the benefits:
  • Performance-based: Only pay when you get a result, a sale, a lead, or an app install. 
  • Scalable: once you have a proven offer and optimized funnel, you can replicate it across new audiences, platforms, and partners without increasing your upfront costs.
  • Channel-diverse: Retail affiliates promote brands over a lot of sources, YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, Pinterest, and beyond. 
  • ROI-strong: Affiliates bring warm traffic and trusted recommendations, often outperforming traditional ads. Imagine how many actually interested shoppers will come to check the store when a fashion influencer who has a huge following of people interested in clothing trends promotes the clothing retailers. Affiliate traffic is warm, qualified, and often ready to buy—especially when coming from creators your audience already follows.

Image Source: Yep Ads Website

Should I Try Affiliate Marketing for My Retail Store

Affiliate marketing works especially well for online retailers looking to expand profitably. Whether you’re a Shopify seller or operate a standalone eCommerce website, affiliate partnerships can help you:

  • Drive traffic and sales with trusted content creators and publishers
  • Launch new products quickly by tapping into ready-made audiences
  • Compete with bigger brands in the industry by leveraging niche influencers
  • Lower acquisition costs by only paying when real results happen

It’s one of the few channels where you can grow fast, without draining your budget first.

Popular retail categories seeing growth in affiliate marketing:

  • Fashion & Apparel
  • Beauty & Skincare
  • Electronics & Gadgets
  • Home & Living
  • Pet Care
  • Wellness & Supplements
  • Subscription Boxes (meals, personal care, hobby kits)

If your product solves a real problem or sparks joy, there’s likely an audience and affiliate for it. No matter your niche, affiliate marketing lets you grow without overspending on ads. With tracking platforms and agencies like Yep Ads to handle scale and strategy, you stay focused on your store, while we handle performance. 

Image Source: Yep Ads Website

How Retail Affiliate Marketing Works

  • A retailer joins or builds an affiliate program (in-house or via an agency like Yep Ads). Partner with our affiliate agency to see how we can help you drive more sales for your retail brand. We have all the tools and can help you to find the right affiliates for your offers.
  • Affiliates apply to promote products and receive links or promo codes.
  • Affiliates promote those products on their traffic sources, such as social media, blogs, YouTube, or newsletters.
  • Customers click the links or use promo codes to make purchases.
  • Retailers track performance and pay commissions based on successful actions.
  • Retail brands often use affiliate software like Impact, CJ, or work with performance agencies that help manage partnerships, payouts, and compliance.

Examples of Retail Affiliate Marketing Programs

Want to know what’s hot—and what’s hidden? These retail affiliate programs include top names and exclusive Yep Ads deals you won’t want to miss.

Amazon Associates 

One of the largest and most well-known affiliate programs in the world. Amazon offers a broad range of products and up to 10% commission depending on the category. The platform provides easy-to-use link tools and real-time tracking.

Image Source: Yep Ads Website

Walmart Affiliate Program 

Hosted on Impact, Walmart’s affiliate program allows publishers to promote millions of products with up to 20% commission. Affiliates get access to banners, tracking links, and weekly deal feeds.

Image Source: Yep Ads Website

eBay Partner Network 

Offers commission for driving traffic and sales across eBay’s global marketplace. Partners get real-time data, reporting tools, and a flexible payout structure that rewards high performers.

Image Source: Yep Ads Website

If you’re an affiliate looking to test and compare top retail programs, joining a trusted performance marketing agency can be a great move. Yep Ads connects high-performing affiliates with retail offers, some exclusive and private, so you can monetize smarter and scale faster.

Pro Tip: Even if you find an affiliate program directly through a brand’s website, consider also joining a performance marketing agency like Yep Ads. We may already have an exclusive partnership and can offer higher commission rates, better terms, and private deals you won’t get elsewhere.

Ulta Affiliate Program 

Focused on beauty and personal care, Ulta’s program supports US geo and runs on a revshare model. Affiliates can promote top beauty brands and receive commissions on qualifying purchases. Contact us to find out the commission rates and special offers. 

Image Source: Yep Ads Website

How to Grow Your Business With Retail Affiliate Programs

Here are tips to maximize your affiliate program’s success:

  • Define your offer: Commission structure, cookie window, and payout terms must be competitive
  • Recruit quality partners: Look beyond follower count—seek content quality, audience alignment, and trust
  • Track everything: Use real-time dashboards to measure conversions, CTR, AOV, and affiliate ROI
  • Test and optimize: Rotate creatives, update landing pages, and reward top affiliates
  • Work with an agency: Performance agencies like Yep Ads help retailers recruit, scale, and succeed with affiliates. 

With over 500 million monthly clicks, 1.2 billion consumers reached annually, and 1000+ exclusive offers, Yep Ads provides the infrastructure and reach needed to make your retail affiliate program thrive.

  • Creator-led commerce: Nano and micro influencers driving targeted sales. Influencer marketing and UGC content are getting more and more popular in the affiliate industry. 
  • Mobile-first funnels: Short-form video + swipe-up tracking links dominate. Stats by Explodingtopics state that smartphone usage dominates online behavior—94.2% of global internet users access the web via their mobile devices. This makes mobile-first affiliate funnels critical for success in 2025. Prioritize mobile-optimized landing pages, swipe-up links, and short-form video formats to capture this traffic.
  • First-party data compliance: Brands using affiliate channels to bypass rising ad costs and privacy changes 
  • Cross-channel measurement: Attribution tech enables more accurate payouts and performance insights
  • AI Tools for optimization: optimize campaigns, personalize user experiences, and improve predictive analytics for better targeting. 

Retail Affiliate Programs FAQ

How much commission should I offer affiliates?

Affiliate programs typically offer between 5%–30%, depending on product margin, AOV, and customer LTV.

How do I find affiliates to promote my store?

Use affiliate networks, recruit creators manually, or partner with an agency that specializes in retail.

What tracking do I need?

Use an affiliate platform with cookie-based or server-to-server tracking. Yep Ads offers in-house tracking with real-time reporting.

Can I run a program without a big budget?

Yes! Since affiliate marketing is performance-based, you only pay when results happen, making it a smart strategy for growing retailers.

Is affiliate marketing good for in-store promotions, too?

The focus here is on online retail. However, affiliate strategies can also support omnichannel growth with promo codes or local influencer reach.

Image Source: Yep Ads Website

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