CASE STUDY

Affiliate Automation at Scale

Huge Success for Zip and BNPL’s

Overview

Zip is a globally recognized payments solution, but they had never explored affiliate marketing before. Affiliate is a prime opportunity for shopping and financial services, and Sovrn Commerce was the optimal way for Zip to easily tap into a market worth more than $12B. Since 2018, Sovrn has created over $18M in new revenue for our BNPL partners, generating over $320M in sales for merchants. 

The Opportunity

When Zip first approached Sovrn Commerce in 2019, their biggest challenge was figuring out a way to monetize their impressive traffic at scale. With more than 3 million app users, they knew they had a great product and a clear selling point. They just needed a reliable way to automatically monetize the large number of merchant links within the Zip app. 

Erin Routzhan, Senior Affiliate Account Manager at Zip says:

“When we started our affiliate channel, we knew to start with Sovrn. They have a great reputation and were exceptionally helpful in getting us set up when we first started. Sovrn has always strived to understand our needs as a business and to model our relationship to best serve our overall goals. They feel more like an extension of our business than just another partner!”

The Solution

As Zip began the process of creating an affiliate strategy, Sovrn’s large partnership base immediately stood out. With 50,000+ merchants in our global network, Zip had access to incredible breadth and depth of monetization opportunities. Sovrn often has multiple programs for each merchant via CPA and CPC networks which alleviates reliance on a single merchant program. We also help to work with key merchants and aim to lock in strategic rates with publishers, so the volatility risk is reduced. And because of our vast network, we’re able to double earnings per click for our BNPL partners compared to the industry average. 

Using the Sovrn Commerce API, existing links were automatically updated to affiliate links at scale. The Commerce API lets Zip monetize the merchant links they’ve placed within the app, generating revenue every time a link is clicked or a purchase is made. They’re able to tap into all of our diverse merchant programs, increasing the number of clicks they’re able to affiliate, and leaving fewer links un-monetized. 

The Results

Zip saw immediate success with the Sovrn Commerce API. Because of Sovrn’s merchant coverage, the number of clicks Zip was able to affiliate grew by 600%. And they haven’t stopped there: the Sovrn team consistently works to optimize Zip’s performance and help them find new opportunities to grow and diversify their revenue. 

Charles Weathers, Affiliate Marketing Manager at Zip says:

“Sovrn helped us scale the program quickly by helping us secure partnerships with major brands, from luxury and fast fashion to travel and taxes.”

About Zip

 Zip (previously QuadPay) is a buy now, pay later solution that enables customers to split a purchase into four interest-free payments over 6 weeks, anywhere Visa is accepted. Their mission is to make it easier for their customers to get what they want, when they want it, and provide an easy way to pay it off. 

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