Affiliate Marketing For UK DTC Brands
Category
Affiliates
Published by
Tom Emmanuel
Read Time
6 Minutes
Affiliate marketing for UK DTC brands works when you pay partners for customers they bring you, and fails when you pay them for customers you already had. The channel is simple: partners promote you and you pay commission on the sales they drive. The skill is in choosing the right partner types, setting commission by partner and customer, controlling voucher codes and making sure every partner labels their content as advertising, which UK rules now make your responsibility too.
Tom Emmanuel
Founder, Furnace Commerce
Affiliate marketing for UK DTC brands: how it works
The partner types, and what each is good for
Not all affiliates do the same job, and they should not all be paid the same. Content partners, such as review sites, gift guides and comparison articles, reach people while they are still deciding. They are often the most valuable for new customers, and the slowest to build. Creators and influencers on social platforms work in a similar way, with faster results and more variation between good and bad ones. On TikTok Shop they run through TikTok's own affiliate programme rather than a network. Cashback and loyalty sites reward people for buying through them. They can bring genuinely new customers, but they also pick up people who were already on your checkout page and went looking for a reward. Voucher sites list discount codes. They convert well, mostly at the end of the journey, and are the most likely to take commission on sales you would have made anyway. A healthy programme uses all of them, but pays each according to the value it actually adds. Look at where your sales are coming from after the first three months. If most affiliate revenue comes from cashback and voucher sites and most of those buyers are existing customers, the programme is costing you margin rather than growing the business. If content partners and creators are bringing new customers, put more effort into recruiting more of them.
Setting commission so it pays for new sales
Start from margin. Work out what you can pay per order after product cost, delivery, network fees and any discount, then decide how much of that each partner type deserves. Pay more for new customers than existing ones. Awin lets you set commission groups and its Shopify app passes new versus existing customer data, so you can pay a lower rate when a returning customer buys. Pay more for partners who introduce people to you than for those who appear at the end. A content site that sends a first-time buyer is worth more than a voucher site that a customer visited after adding to basket. Review it every quarter. Look at each partner's share of new customers, their return rate and the discount their audience used, not just their sales.
Controlling voucher codes
Voucher codes are where many programmes leak money. A code you gave to one creator ends up on a voucher site, and now every customer who finds it gets a discount and someone gets paid commission. Awin's guidance distinguishes generic codes, visible to all partners, from exclusive codes given to one partner, and recommends tracking code use so you can find leaks. Its transactions report shows which partner shared each code. Use exclusive codes for creators and content partners, keep generic codes to a minimum, and write a clear rule in your programme terms that codes cannot be republished without permission. Validate sales before you pay. Decline cancelled and returned orders and claims that break your terms, every month, before they are approved. Watch for brand bidding too. Some partners pay for ads on your brand name, then take commission on people who were searching for you anyway. Say in your terms whether that is allowed, and check your brand searches regularly for partners breaking the rule.
UK disclosure rules you are responsible for
Affiliate content is advertising under UK rules, and the brand shares responsibility for it. The ASA and CAP's guide for influencers, updated in 2023 with input from the CMA, says that content with an affiliate link or code that pays the creator counts as an ad. It must be clearly labelled up front, with labels such as #ad or advert, and a general disclaimer elsewhere is not enough. Labels such as "affiliate", "aff" or "collab" on their own are not recommended. The CMA's August 2025 guidance for brands on social media endorsements says that payment includes commission, that brands have a responsibility to make sure content promoting them is labelled as advertising, and that brands may be held responsible if it is misleading. So put disclosure in your programme terms, check partner content regularly, and remove partners who will not label it.
The best affiliate programmes are not the biggest. They are the ones that only pay for customers they would not otherwise have had.
Questions brands ask about affiliate marketing
Is affiliate marketing worth it for a small UK brand?
It can be, because you pay on results rather than up front. But networks charge monthly and per-transaction fees, and someone has to run the programme. Awin's entry plan, for example, is £99 plus VAT a month plus 3.5% per transaction before any commission. Work out your cost per order before you start.
Do affiliates have to say #ad in the UK?
Yes. The ASA and CAP's influencer guidance says content with an affiliate link or code that earns the creator money is advertising and must be clearly labelled up front, for example with #ad. The CMA's guidance for brands says brands are also responsible for making sure content promoting them is labelled.
Should I let voucher sites into my affiliate programme?
Only on your terms. Voucher sites convert well but often appear at the end of a journey that was going to end in a sale anyway. If you include them, pay them a lower rate, give them generic codes only, and monitor whether the customers they bring are new.
Which affiliate network should a UK DTC brand use?
Pick on partner reach in your category, tracking quality, Shopify integration and published costs. Awin, for example, publishes its pricing and has a Shopify app. Our post on Awin for UK brands covers its costs and set-up in detail.
Let's work together
Affiliates not paying their way?
Tell us your category, your current partners and what you pay them, and we will tell you what we would keep, cut and add.