The use of technology by marketing affiliates and its impact on the local retail sector

Abstract

This study seeks to explore how technology is used for Affiliate Marketing, and its impact on the local retail sector. As a result, this study intends to fill a research gap in the Maltese context that relates to the topic in question, which has already been evaluated in other countries, as evidenced by the literature review. The primary aim of this study is to gain some rich and in-depth information regarding the use of Affiliate Marketing Technologies within the local retail sector. Other objectives include determining whether this sort of marketing is more appealing for the younger generations given that it is highly made accessible through social media. Investigating whether, consumers tend to buy more now based off a review that they see on social media, from the influencers they follow, and even what types of technologies are being mostly used within the local context in Affiliate Marketing. A qualitative research methodology was used to collect primary data to meet the mentioned objectives. A selection of eleven Store Owners and Marketing Managers that currently use Affiliate Marketing, participated in this study through interviews in which they were asked several semi-structured, in-depth questions. The findings which are presented in this research were then analysed and discussed. The outcomes show that many of the local brands do use affiliate marketing and they each highlight the impact that they benefit from. Other results indicate how such marketing is implemented and the pros and cons of using Affiliate Marketing and working with influencers. The findings of this dissertation conclude that social media is heavily used within the retail sector, both as a platform as well as by the influencers for Affiliate Marketing due to many benefits, mainly being the cost, return and the exposure that they get from it. To conclude, this study shows that nowadays given that the majority implement Affiliate Marketing in one way or another, it is an essential marketing channel that offers brands of all sizes, even start-ups, to gain brand awareness and remain competitive within the industry.