Research from Impact.com reveals that brands are investing in affiliate partnership has risen by 10%, despite shoppers buying fewer items.
Shoppers are making 7% fewer purchases but spending 8% more overall, while brands are investing more in affiliate partners that can convert, according to a 2026 mid-year report from Impact.com.
Average order value has risen 16%, but conversion rates fell 12%, with click volume jumping 6%.
The rise in clicks but drop in conversions implies that consumers are looking into their purchases more, and researching their options before purchase.
Although inflation is contributing to this, it accounts for just a 2-3% rise in online prices – but per-item prices rose 13%.
This suggests that consumers are choosing higher priced items after a long period of comparison, instead of buying cheaper items and absorbing the inflated prices.
The report analysed over 2,000 same-store retail brands, and found that although average order value rose 16% from $110 to $130, transactions declined 7% year-on-year (YoY).
In keeping with the trend of customers being more intentional with their purchases, loyalty and rewards programmes are increasing their contribution to consumer spending from 51% to 54%. Lower-funnel, high intent channels are seeing success, with tech partners growing 15% YoY (by transaction volume).
Despite loyalty partners growing, voucher and coupon partners have declined, suggesting consumers are forgoing coupons as they research their desired product heavily.
Separating strategies
Cristy Garcia, Impact.com’s chief marketing officer, said: “Inflation is real, but what’s more interesting is what consumers are doing about it. They’re not just paying more for the same stuff, they’re being deliberate about quality. That requires brands to rethink their partnerships.
“We’re seeing a clear shift toward performance-based models because they work: they reward partners who can actually convert shoppers in a more competitive landscape. Discounts alone don’t cut it anymore. What wins is when you have the right partners at the right moment of intent.”
Total spend from brands grew 10% YoY, which outpaced the consumer spending growth of 8%, highlighting they are looking to reward affiliate partners that can offer conversions.
Fixed-cost models are down 19% YoY, and performance-based commissions (up 14% YoY), which represents 90% of total brand spend.
There’s a distinct separation between categories, with two behaviour patterns emerging. Some categories experienced a surge in consumer spending, like electronics and technology (38%) – with 46% higher transactions despite average order value dropping 6%.
Other categories like apparel and accessories saw a 17% average order increase, but an 11% transaction decline, which suggests the need for individual strategies for different verticals.
