Affiliate Roundup: 88% of Creators Treat Influencer Marketing as a Side Hustle, Retail Media Grows, GA4’s Attribution Shift Sparks Challenges for Affiliate Marketers, & More

The Most Interesting Happenings in Affiliate, in 7 Articles or Fewer

This week in FMTC’s Affiliate Roundup: 88% of creators treat influencer marketing as a side hustle due to financial instability and platform uncertainties, highlighting the need for sustainable brand partnerships. Retail media spending rises, with Amazon Ads leading at $47 billion. GA4’s attribution shift is underreporting affiliate contributions, sparking adaptation debates.

• Rightlander, a leader in affiliate compliance monitoring, has acquired Mitigatr, a company specializing in risk detection and prevention, to enhance its services in identifying and mitigating online risks.

• Despite influencer marketing’s massive growth, 88% of content creators still treat it as a side hustle due to financial instability and platform uncertainties, highlighting the need for more sustainable brand partnerships.

• Retail media spending is rising despite measurement challenges, with Amazon Ads dominating at $47 billion.

• OpenAI has urged President Trump to clarify AI copyright laws to maintain U.S. leadership over China, but the proposal faces strong opposition from celebrities and publishers who argue it enables exploitation of creative works.

• Google’s Vision Match utilizes AI image generation to help shoppers find desired products by creating realistic visuals that align with their preferences.

• A recent survey indicates that 71% of shoppers limit data sharing to what they deem necessary, reflecting growing concerns about brands’ data collection and usage practices.

• Google Analytics 4’s shift in attribution models is causing challenges for affiliate marketers by underreporting affiliate contributions, sparking debates on how to adapt.