Zappos – the Success of their Affiliate Marketing Channel
Women’s Wear Daily, the authority for news and trends in the worlds of fashion and retail just had a good article about Zappos’ marketing strategy, that highlighted some info about the success of their affiliate marketing channel.
According to the source, affiliate marketing accounts for around 25% of their overall sales and they have 3,200 affiliates. Nice sized program! The article also alludes to the channel conflict that often arises between the search marketing and affiliate marketing divisions.
In addition to relying on word-of-mouth, Zappos also has signed with an affiliate network, where online partners, including blogs, shopping sites and comparison sites, drive traffic to Zappos and are paid a commission on the sales completed. The company is currently a member of Commission Junction, with 3,200 partners.
Roughly a quarter of Zappos’ sales come from affiliates, but search engines are its most profitable direct marketing avenue, said Matt Burchard, the firm’s director of content and direct online marketing. “As the search engine marketing becomes more robust, we see it eroding the affiliate channel,” he said.
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#1 Natural Doc wrote on Wednesday, May 6th, 2009:
Wow, that is an amazing number of affiliates, and they are making money none-the-less. I guess the affiliates better get their share before the search engine marketing takes over and zappos no has a need for their affiliates. I recently seen that they have tv commercials as well … affiliates better hurry and make their money.
#2 peter bordes wrote on Wednesday, May 6th, 2009:
Uggg these channels do not erode each other. they compliment each other. companies need to understand this and take a holistic view point of the online marketing ecosystem.
I am going to cover this topic in my key note at Affiliate Convention.I have some very good data regarding this and i hope to dispel this myth