Every two weeks, we report on the click and conversion activity we see across our platform, in order to provide the market with some insight into key trends in the partnerships industry. These data show the activity we are seeing during these challenging times, among those clients who allow their data to be aggregated and reported in this manner.
While our 300+ advertisers are not necessarily representative of the entire market, the data from these massive programs can provide visibility into what a big sample of large advertisers is doing in response to the current environment.
In our last report in early April, we detected a number of positive signs in multiple business categories. This latest analysis examines activity for the second half of April vs. the first half, as well as the entire month of April vs. March.
INSIGHTS FROM APRIL 16-30 VS. APRIL 1-15
We compared average daily conversions and clicks for the last half of April with that activity during the first fifteen days of April to identify significant changes in consumer activity.
It’s important to note that daily and weekly data are quite volatile. Short-term promotions, holidays, and other market events impact both the rates of click and conversion in our industry. Even with this high level of data noise, we detected the following key trends versus the previous period.
Travel
The travel vertical remains the most affected by the current situation. With many hotels still completely closed, and airlines flying very limited schedules, most programs show paused or limited activity. But on a positive note, while we did not see an increase in conversions, we did see a promising increase of 37% in average daily clicks over the second half of April, indicating that consumers are at least tempted to explore travel offers for the first time in months.
Retail
The online retail sector continues trending upwards. With consumers shopping online at higher rates than ever, we’re seeing success in partnership programs that continue to run strategic and targeted offers. The Partnerize Partnerships team has been proactively working with advertisers and brands to help find new partnerships, and this is having a positive impact on the retail sector across our platform.
Over the second half of April, average daily retail clicks were up 14% and conversions were up 15%. The channel is delivering sales at a much greater rate than in March when some brands reduced activity or paused programs. Average daily conversions for the month of April were 34% higher than in March.
Sectors and regions performing best in our retail sample are:
- Fashion and apparel, where we have seen a 36% increase in average daily conversions over the second half of April, while clicks increased 29%.
- Luxury, where we’ve seen a 30% increase in average daily conversions from and 8% rise in clicks. Less browsing, more buying appears to be the trend here.
- Retail in the APAC region continues trending up, with a 12% increase in average daily conversions versus the first half of April, and a 17% increase in average daily clicks. Conversions were also up 36% for the entire month of April versus all of March.
Finance
We saw a 9% increase in daily average conversions in the financial sector for the second half of April versus the first half, while clicks remained fairly flat. Additionally, for the entire month of April versus March, there was a 15% increase in conversions. Regionally, EMEA saw the best performance in the finance sector, with small increases in both average daily clicks and conversions. In the US/Canada, there was an 8% uptick in clicks, though conversion remained flat.
While it is difficult to pinpoint reasons for the current trends in finance, it is important to remember that a variety of major government-led financial measures kicked into gear in April, including the $1200 stimulus checks distributed to millions during the period.
Subscriptions
We work with a large number of entertainment and information companies that sell online subscriptions. Over the second half of April, these brands saw a 27% increase in average daily conversions, along with a 16% increase in clicks. These companies continue to find ways to convert consumers despite economic uncertainty. In fact, growth has been going up steadily since the early days of the crisis. Naturally, performance varies significantly by provider and the extent to which they rely on live programming as part of their model.
Telecoms
We work with 10 of the largest telecoms worldwide. Globally, we’ve seen conversions flatten in the second half of April versus the first, thought clicks were up 33%. Overall, April was a fairly positive month for these providers, with conversions up 27% month over month from March.
This is another vertical seeing strong performance from affiliate and partnership programs architected to deliver strategic growth, like new commissioning structures and diversified partners.
IDEAS FOR MOVING FORWARD
Our Client Success and Partnerships teams are working closely with brands and partners on strategies for moving forward smartly in these unstable economic times. Our goal is to help people find real solutions to challenges and opportunities so they can make informed, creative choices geared toward growth. Real solutions include aligning commission strategies to changing objectives, exploring new types of partnerships, ensuring margin-focused contracting, and more.
Check out our latest content and webinar recordings for more creative solutions to today’s business challenges, or reach out for a demo.
