UK Affiliate Marketing Statistics 2026: Market Size, Trends and Benchmarks
Updated: 6 November 2026 | Research and analysis by Affiliate Marketing Agency (AMA)
The UK affiliate marketing industry continues to grow, with advertisers investing £1.78 billion in affiliate and partner marketing during 2025, according to the Affiliate & Partner Marketing Association (APMA).
That investment was associated with £20.7 billion in tracked revenue and 357 million transactions, demonstrating the scale of affiliate marketing within the UK digital economy.
But the most interesting story isn’t simply the size of the market. It is how affiliate marketing is evolving beyond traditional commission-based sales into content partnerships, product discovery, comparison shopping, creator commerce and more sophisticated commercial models.
This report examines the latest available UK affiliate marketing statistics, explains what they mean for advertisers and identifies the trends worth monitoring in 2026 and beyond.
Data note: This article was updated in November 2026. The latest complete annual UK affiliate industry figures cover calendar year 2025, published in the APMA’s 2026 State of the Affiliate Nation report.
UK affiliate marketing statistics: Key findings
| Metric | Latest reported figure | Reporting period |
|---|---|---|
| UK affiliate marketing investment | £1.78 billion | 2025 |
| Annual investment growth | 7.3% | 2025 vs 2024 |
| Affiliate-attributed revenue | £20.7 billion | 2025 |
| Tracked affiliate transactions | 357 million | 2025 |
| Affiliate clicks | 14.8 billion | 2025 |
| Approximate tracked transactions per hour | 41,000 | 2025 |
| Retail share of affiliate investment | 47% | 2025 |
| Travel sector investment growth | 14% | 2025 |
| Finance sector investment growth | 9% | 2025 |
| Telecoms sector investment growth | 11% | 2025 |
Source: APMA — State of the Affiliate Nation 2026.
These figures represent industry-level activity, not the typical performance of an individual advertiser.
1. How big is the UK affiliate marketing industry?
UK advertiser investment in affiliate and partner marketing reached £1.78 billion in 2025, compared with £1.66 billion in 2024.
This represents growth of approximately 7.3% year on year.
UK affiliate marketing investment over time
| Year | Estimated investment | Annual growth |
|---|---|---|
| 2023 | £1.53bn | — |
| 2024 | £1.66bn | Approximately 9% |
| 2025 | £1.78bn | 7.3% |
Source: APMA’s 2025 and 2026 State of the Affiliate Nation reports.
The market has expanded over successive reporting periods despite economic uncertainty and pressure on marketing budgets.
What does this mean for brands?
Affiliate marketing is an established commercial channel rather than an emerging marketing experiment.
However, the size of the overall industry does not guarantee that a particular programme will be successful.
Results depend on product-market fit, publisher recruitment, competitive positioning, commission structures and effective management.
For businesses considering launching a programme, the relevant question is not simply whether the market is growing, but whether the channel offers access to customers and partners they cannot efficiently reach elsewhere.
2. How much revenue does affiliate marketing generate in the UK?
Affiliate and partner marketing generated approximately £20.7 billion in attributed revenue during 2025, compared with £19.2 billion in 2024.
That represents growth of approximately 8%.
Revenue growth exceeded transaction growth, suggesting that changes in basket value and the composition of affiliate sales contributed to the increase.
Understanding attributed revenue
An important distinction is that affiliate-attributed revenue is not the same as incremental revenue.
A transaction may be attributed to an affiliate because that publisher participated in the customer’s purchasing journey.
It does not automatically establish that the transaction would not have occurred without the publisher.
For brands assessing profitability, attributed sales should be evaluated alongside:
- New customer acquisition.
- Customer lifetime value.
- Publisher costs.
- Contribution margin.
- Attribution quality.
- Incrementality testing where practical.
The objective should be to understand genuine commercial contribution, not simply maximise tracked sales.
3. How many affiliate transactions occur in the UK?
The APMA reported 357 million tracked affiliate transactions in 2025.
That equates to approximately:
- 978,000 transactions per day.
- 40,800 transactions per hour.
- 11 transactions per second.
These are rounded averages calculated from the annual total. Actual transaction volumes vary significantly by season, day and promotional period.
The reported annual total increased from approximately 345 million transactions in 2024.
Why transaction growth matters
The combination of rising revenue and slower transaction growth suggests that average transaction value increased across the measured activity.
However, the industry comprises different sectors, and the composition of transactions may change over time.
Brands should therefore avoid applying the industry average to their own programmes without considering product category, order value and customer behaviour.
4. How much traffic does affiliate marketing generate?
The APMA reported approximately 14.8 billion affiliate clicks in 2025, based on submissions from nine networks and platforms.
That equates to roughly 41 million clicks per day.
This figure highlights the substantial volume of consumer interaction occurring through affiliate partnerships.
However, not all clicks have the same commercial purpose.
A customer clicking an editorial product review may be researching a purchase, while someone clicking a cashback offer may already be ready to buy.
What brands should measure
Click volume should be analysed alongside conversion rates, publisher type, customer quality and profitability.
High traffic volumes are not automatically evidence of strong programme performance.
Similarly, a lower-converting content partner may contribute valuable product discovery that is not fully captured by last-click reporting.
5. Which UK industries spend the most on affiliate marketing?
Retail remains the largest contributor to UK affiliate investment.
According to the APMA’s 2026 report, retail accounted for 47% of total affiliate marketing expenditure in 2025.
However, other sectors also recorded significant growth.
Affiliate investment growth by sector
| Sector | Investment growth in 2025 | Revenue growth |
|---|---|---|
| Retail | +1% | +5% |
| Travel | +14% | +10% |
| Finance | +9% | +10% |
| Telecoms | +11% | +3% |
Source: APMA, State of the Affiliate Nation 2026.
Retail
Retail remains the channel’s largest sector, supported by established publisher models including cashback, loyalty, comparison shopping, editorial content and creators.
The relatively modest increase in retail investment compared with other sectors illustrates the importance of looking beyond overall industry growth.
Travel
Travel recorded particularly strong investment growth.
Travel affiliate programmes may involve comparison websites, travel publications, loyalty partners and specialist booking platforms.
Finance
Financial services affiliate marketing includes comparison, content and other acquisition-focused partnerships.
Because customer value and regulatory requirements differ significantly from ecommerce, retail metrics should not be applied directly.
Telecoms
Telecoms affiliate activity includes comparison and customer acquisition partnerships.
The APMA identifies price comparison as a particularly significant publisher category within this sector.
Implications
There is no single affiliate strategy suitable for every industry.
Brands should build programmes around their customer journey, regulatory environment and relevant publisher ecosystem.
6. How important is affiliate marketing during Black Friday?
Affiliate marketing plays a significant role during peak retail trading.
The APMA reported that more than £1 in every £7 spent across Cyber Weekend in 2025 was tracked through an affiliate link, compared with approximately £1 in every £8 in 2024.
That indicates an increasing affiliate-attributed share of spending during this promotional period.
What this means for retailers
Peak trading creates opportunities for:
- Editorial gift guides.
- Product comparison publishers.
- Loyalty and cashback campaigns.
- Creator-led promotions.
- Exclusive offers.
- Strategic partner placements.
However, increased tracked sales during Black Friday should not automatically be interpreted as incremental performance.
Brands should consider whether promotional costs, discounts and affiliate commissions produce profitable additional business.
Recommended approach
Begin planning peak-season publisher activity well in advance.
Agree commercial terms, prioritise relevant placements and establish performance measurement before promotional campaigns launch.
7. How profitable is affiliate marketing?
Industry reporting frequently describes affiliate marketing in terms of revenue returned for every pound invested.
The APMA reported a headline return figure of approximately 15:1 for 2025, with higher reported ratios in certain sectors.
This is useful as a high-level industry indicator, but it requires careful interpretation.
Revenue return is not the same as profit
For example, if a brand generates £15 in attributed revenue for every £1 of affiliate expenditure, that does not mean it earns £14 in profit.
The brand still needs to account for:
- Product costs.
- Fulfilment.
- Returns.
- Discounts.
- Operating expenses.
- Other marketing costs.
- The proportion of revenue that is genuinely incremental.
The APMA also notes that sector-level return calculations are not directly comparable in all cases, particularly for finance and telecoms.
What should brands use instead?
For programme-level decisions, consider:
Total cost of sale
Total programme costs divided by validated affiliate revenue.
New customer CPA
Total relevant acquisition costs divided by new customers acquired.
Contribution margin
Revenue less the variable costs associated with generating and fulfilling sales.
Incremental return
The additional commercial contribution caused by affiliate activity relative to the relevant expenditure.
Explore AMA’s guide to affiliate marketing KPIs for a broader performance measurement framework.
8. Affiliate marketing is moving beyond traditional CPA
One of the most important findings from the APMA’s 2026 research is the increasing role of non-traditional commercial arrangements.
The report estimates that close to one in five pounds of affiliate investment is now spent outside traditional last-click CPA arrangements.
These investments can include:
- Fixed-fee publisher placements.
- Content partnerships.
- Cost-per-click campaigns.
- Hybrid commercial agreements.
- Other non-CPA arrangements.
Why is this happening?
Not every valuable publisher can operate sustainably on last-click commission alone.
Editorial publishers and creators may influence purchasing decisions earlier in the customer journey without receiving the final conversion credit.
Brands increasingly need commercial models that recognise both influence and measurable sales outcomes.
What should advertisers do?
Evaluate publishers according to their role in the customer journey.
A fixed placement should not be judged using exactly the same criteria as a commission-only cashback partnership.
Where possible, combine performance reporting with controlled testing and customer acquisition analysis.
9. The growth of comparison shopping services
Comparison shopping services, or CSS partners, are an important component of the affiliate ecosystem, particularly in retail.
The APMA’s 2026 report identifies 18% year-on-year growth in CSS activity.
CSS partners can help brands reach shoppers through product comparison and shopping advertising environments.
However, the commercial impact depends on campaign setup, competition, attribution and overlap with the advertiser’s existing paid shopping activity.
Considerations for brands
Before introducing CSS partners, review:
- Existing Google Shopping activity.
- Product feed quality.
- Attribution and deduplication.
- Commission structures.
- Brand bidding and channel overlap.
- Incremental customer acquisition.
- Total cost of sale.
CSS can be valuable, but it should be integrated with the wider paid media and affiliate strategy rather than treated as an isolated revenue source.
10. How does affiliate marketing compare with the wider UK digital advertising market?
The UK digital advertising market reached £40.5 billion in 2025, according to IAB UK’s Digital Adspend Study.
That represented approximately 10% annual growth.
The IAB also reported that UK digital advertising investment reached £21.2 billion during the first half of 2026, up 13% year on year.
Wider digital advertising context
| Metric | Reported figure |
|---|---|
| UK digital advertising spend, 2025 | £40.5bn |
| Digital advertising growth, 2025 | +10% |
| Search advertising spend, 2025 | £17.9bn |
| Social advertising spend, 2025 | £11.5bn |
| UK digital advertising spend, H1 2026 | £21.2bn |
| H1 2026 digital advertising growth | +13% |
Sources: IAB UK, Digital Adspend 2025 and H1 2026.
These figures provide market context but should not be combined into a simple affiliate market-share calculation.
The APMA and IAB use different reporting scopes and methodologies, and affiliate activity may overlap with other advertising categories.
What does the wider market tell us?
Digital advertising continues to expand, but advertisers face increasing complexity in how consumers discover and purchase products.
Affiliate marketing can complement paid search, social media, retail media and other channels through publisher partnerships and performance-linked commercial arrangements.
11. Five affiliate marketing trends to watch in 2026 and 2027
Trend 1: Greater scrutiny of incrementality
Brands are increasingly interested in understanding which partnerships generate additional sales rather than simply receiving attribution credit.
This encourages better measurement, more sophisticated commission structures and testing of publisher contribution.
Trend 2: Growth in content and creator partnerships
Affiliate programmes increasingly incorporate editorial content, specialist publishers and creators alongside established conversion-focused partners.
Brands may need to combine commissions with gifting, fixed placements and hybrid agreements.
Trend 3: More sophisticated partnership economics
The growth of non-CPA expenditure suggests that advertisers are experimenting with commercial arrangements that reward different types of contribution.
The challenge is to ensure that these arrangements remain accountable and profitable.
Trend 4: AI-driven changes to consumer discovery
AI search and recommendation experiences are changing how consumers find products and information.
For affiliate publishers, this creates uncertainty around organic traffic, attribution and monetisation.
Brands should monitor the impact on referral traffic and publisher performance rather than assuming all affiliate categories will be affected equally.
Trend 5: Stronger integration with other marketing channels
Affiliate marketing increasingly overlaps with PPC, creator marketing, loyalty, content and strategic partnerships.
Successful programmes will need consistent measurement and clearer commercial rules across these activities.
These are strategic trends identified through industry research and analysis, not numerical forecasts of future performance.
12. What are good affiliate marketing benchmarks for UK brands?
One of the most common questions is what constitutes a good affiliate conversion rate, commission rate or return on investment.
Unfortunately, there is no reliable universal benchmark that applies across all industries.
For example, an affiliate programme selling £30 beauty products operates under very different economics from one promoting £2,000 holidays or B2B software subscriptions.
Recommended benchmark framework
| Metric | What to compare |
|---|---|
| Conversion rate | Similar publisher types and customer intent |
| Commission rate | Product margin, customer value and partner contribution |
| Cost of sale | Total programme expenditure against contribution margin |
| New customer rate | Acquisition objectives and historical performance |
| Publisher activation | Consistent cohorts and activation definitions |
| AOV | Product mix and customer segments |
| Incrementality | Controlled experiments and credible comparison groups |
| Recruitment performance | Qualified partners contacted, activated and retained |
Rather than adopting generic industry averages, brands should establish internal baselines and compare performance against relevant competitors and publisher categories where reliable data exists.
For a practical assessment, see AMA’s affiliate programme audit resources.
13. What do these statistics mean for brands considering an affiliate programme?
The latest UK data confirms that affiliate marketing is a substantial and growing commercial channel.
However, industry growth alone is not a reason to launch or expand a programme.
Brands should first establish whether they have:
- Products or services that relevant publishers can promote effectively.
- A commercially sustainable commission model.
- Reliable tracking and reporting.
- Sufficient resources for publisher recruitment and management.
- A clear understanding of customer acquisition and profitability.
For businesses launching a programme
Prioritise publisher research, network selection, commission planning and tracking implementation.
For established advertisers
Review publisher concentration, activation, acquisition costs and incrementality.
For brands considering an agency
Assess relevant sector experience, publisher relationships, reporting capabilities and commercial strategy rather than relying solely on headline revenue claims.
AMA’s affiliate agency directory provides a starting point for comparing potential partners.
Frequently asked questions
How big is the UK affiliate marketing industry in 2026?
The latest complete annual industry data, published in 2026, estimates that UK advertisers invested £1.78 billion in affiliate and partner marketing during 2025. Full-year 2026 results are not yet available.
Is affiliate marketing growing in the UK?
Yes. APMA data shows affiliate investment increased by 7.3% in 2025, following approximately 9% growth in 2024.
How much revenue does affiliate marketing generate?
UK affiliate and partner marketing was associated with approximately £20.7 billion in attributed revenue in 2025, according to the APMA.
Which industry spends the most on affiliate marketing?
Retail accounted for approximately 47% of UK affiliate investment in 2025, making it the largest sector in the APMA’s research.
What is the average affiliate marketing ROI?
The APMA reported an industry-level headline revenue return figure of approximately 15:1 for 2025. This should not be interpreted as an average advertiser’s net profit or incremental ROI.
How many affiliate transactions happen each year?
The APMA reported 357 million tracked affiliate transactions in 2025.
What is a good affiliate commission rate?
There is no universal rate. Commission structures should account for margins, customer value, publisher contribution and the commercial requirements of the partnership.
Will AI affect affiliate marketing?
AI-driven discovery may change how publishers attract traffic and how consumers research purchases. The scale and commercial impact will vary by publisher type and business model.
Conclusion: What the 2026 data tells us
The UK affiliate marketing industry remains commercially significant, with continued growth in investment, attributed revenue and consumer interactions.
The latest research also points towards a more complex partnership ecosystem.
Traditional commission-based affiliate activity remains important, but brands are increasingly investing in content, comparison shopping, creators and other commercial arrangements.
For advertisers, the opportunity is not simply to participate in a growing channel.
It is to develop a programme that combines relevant publisher relationships with strong measurement, efficient acquisition and sustainable commercial performance.
Explore affiliate marketing agencies and resources
- Compare UK affiliate marketing agencies
- Explore affiliate networks
- Understand affiliate agency pricing
- How to choose an affiliate marketing agency
- Find an affiliate marketing agency
Sources and research methodology
Primary source
Affiliate & Partner Marketing Association (APMA), State of the Affiliate Nation 2026, reporting on calendar-year 2025 performance.
APMA — 2026 State of the Affiliate Nation findings
APMA — Full 2026 research report (PDF)
Historical comparison
APMA, State of the Affiliate Nation 2025, reporting on 2024 activity.
Wider advertising market
IAB UK — H1 2026 Digital Adspend
Methodological limitations
The APMA’s industry figures combine submissions from participating affiliate networks and platforms with modelling to estimate market activity not fully represented in the submissions.
The research does not cover every affiliate transaction or commercial arrangement in the UK. Certain sectors and activities are excluded, and different publisher categories may use different attribution and measurement approaches.
AMA has not independently audited the underlying network submissions. The statistics in this article are attributed to their original research providers, while the interpretations and recommendations are AMA editorial analysis.
Last updated: 6 November 2026.