Affiliate marketing is a performance-based strategy where businesses reward individuals (affiliates) for promoting their products or services. Affiliates earn a commission for every sale, lead, or click they generate through their unique referral links.
It’s a popular method used by bloggers, influencers, and websites to monetize their audience—while helping brands increase reach and conversions.
Traditional sectors and mobile platforms expected to drive exponential growth. India’s affiliate marketing industry is poised for a massive leap, with projected growth from USD 96 million in 2016 to USD 835 million by 2025, according to a white paper by Tata Strategic Management Group (TSMG) titled ‘Affiliate Marketing in India: The Next Frontier.’
This eight-fold surge is attributed to rising digital marketing spends, expansion of affiliate strategies beyond e-commerce, and the strengthening of mobile-based affiliate ecosystems.
Affiliate marketing, a model where merchants collaborate with publishers, bloggers, and other platforms to promote products and services, currently accounts for under 10% of digital marketing budgets in India—compared to about 15% in more mature markets.
The report highlights a promising shift as traditional industries—such as banking, financial services and insurance (BFSI), real estate, and automobiles—begin allocating more budget towards affiliate-driven campaigns. These sectors are expected to leverage platforms like comparison websites, influencer blogs, and product review sites to engage audiences and influence purchase decisions.
“Offline categories have historically struggled to tap into affiliate marketing effectively. But as online and offline channels increasingly integrate, even conventional industries are recognizing the strategic value of affiliate partnerships”
Interestingly, even non-traditional sectors like event planning and wedding services have started adopting affiliate strategies, further broadening the market scope.
As digital ecosystems mature and more sectors explore affiliate models, industry experts anticipate affiliate marketing will become a core part of India’s digital strategy landscape by 2025.
