How a UK lifestyle brand increased revenue by +159% through strategic affiliate marketing.

The Challenge

A well-known UK lifestyle brand experienced rapid growth in its affiliate marketing programme, particularly through a loyalty-based incentive strategy that rewarded customers for both online and in-store shopping. However, this success led to three major challenges:

• Uncontrolled Commission Costs – Within the first month of launch, commission spending surged 15%, making the programme unsustainable, especially during peak shopping events like Black Friday.
• Incrementality Concerns – While affiliate-driven sales increased, internal eCommerce growth metrics did not match up, leading to scepticism about whether the programme truly drove new customer acquisition.
• In-Store Sales Complexity – The inclusion of brick-and-mortar transactions within the affiliate channel blurred tracking accuracy, raising concerns about whether loyalty incentives were influencing purchases or simply rewarding organic sales.

Without a robust incrementality measurement framework, the brand needed a strategy that ensured sustainable growth while maintaining cost efficiency.

The Gen3 Approach

Gen3 deployed a data-driven affiliate marketing optimisation strategy to enhance programme efficiency and drive incremental revenue growth.

• Commission Realignment – The commission structure was revised to balance cost control and performance incentives, ensuring profitability even during peak sales seasons.
• Loyalty Programme Optimisation – In-store transactions were removed from the programme, shifting the focus to online purchases for better tracking and incremental impact analysis.
• Incrementality Testing – By targeting competitor shoppers and leveraging open banking data, Gen3 conducted controlled incrementality tests. Results confirmed:
  • 30% increase in transactions.
  • 25% rise in unique customers.
  • 60% uplift in total spend.
• Strategic Collaboration – Regular in-person meetings helped align brand stakeholders with performance goals, addressed incrementality concerns, and built confidence in the affiliate marketing channel.

The Results

Gen3’s affiliate marketing optimisation strategy transformed the loyalty programme into a high-performing revenue driver:

Month-on-Month Growth Post-Optimisation:

• +100% increase in revenue.
• +90% increase in orders.
• +35% rise in conversion rate.
• +45% increase in clicks.

Year-to-Date Growth vs. Previous Year:

• +160% revenue growth.
• +165% order increase.
• +75% increase in clicks.

Loyalty Programme Cost Optimisation:

• 344% reduction in commission costs month-over-month while maintaining strong incremental sales performance.

By refining commission structures and eliminating inefficiencies, the brand-controlled costs while keeping affiliate marketing as a top revenue driver. The programme is now a scalable, sustainable channel, proving the power of a data-driven affiliate strategy.

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