The Future is Affiliates

One of the most immediate and notable results of the recession is the growth of online shopping, as shoppers move online to save costs. Luxury brands are not immune from this trend and must look to investing in online strategies to stimulate sales in an increasingly uncertain climate.

Late last year LinkShare commissioned an in-depth report with Jupiter Research to investigate how consumer behaviour is changing during the recession. We found that Online Luxury Shoppers are among the most engaged and influential shoppers and are becoming more astute in searching for the best deals online. The majority reported visiting multiple sites before making a purchase decision because they want to see more prices, product info and are likely to seek out expert reviews. To maximise their online sales retailers need to recognise this change and apply a fresh approach to interacting with shoppers whilst they are making the decision to buy.

So with the aim of expanding your presence online an economical and productive way to do this is through affiliate marketing. Affiliate marketing uses partner sites (known as affiliates) to promote your goods or services. Links to your website or individual products are placed in content and adverts that are featured on partner sites, such as SheerLuxe. When these sites drive traffic to your site that converts to sales they are paid a commission, making it a pure pay-for-performance solution.

The main concern is usually brand control but working with a good affiliate network allows you complete control over your branding. They will research and develop the right pool of affiliates to ensure that your brand is promoted in the best possible way and on quality websites highlighting brand positioning whilst helping to create maximum conversion potential to stimulate your sales in a struggling economy.