Summit Affiliate Marketing Interview Series Part 2: PayPal Honey

In the second of our Affiliate Partner interview series, we speak with PayPal Honey, a suite of online shopping tools that helps members to save money and earn redeemable rewards.

To find out more about the business, what they do, and how they view the industry in the current economic climate, Summit’s Affiliate Strategist, Steffen Hagavei spoke with Fatme Bostandzhieva, PayPal Honey Partnerships Manager.

Can you tell us about your business? How long have you been around for, type of customers etc. 

PayPal Honey was originally founded in 2012 in Los Angeles as a browser extension to help consumers discover deals and discounts. By 2014, the company already had 1 million organic users trusting Honey to find them some of the best deals when shopping online. Fast forward to 2019 Honey was acquired by PayPal.
 
Today PayPal Honey has developed a suite of shopping tools to engage with customers throughout various decision-making points to help optimise the user journey and increase conversions via the extension functionality. PayPal Honey delivers value to tens of thousands of retail merchants that we’ve collaborated with world-wide and the affiliate partnerships team prides itself on creating strong, mutually beneficial partnerships.  

Can you let us know what has changed in your eyes so far through this cost-of-living crisis for brands advertising on your site? 

As the cost-of-living crisis continues to affect our daily lives, there is no doubt that brands in the affiliate space are feeling its impact. The biggest change has been the increased pressure on brands to provide value to their customers, while also keeping their own costs under control.  
 
As consumers are becoming more cost-conscious and looking for ways to stretch their budgets, they are paying closer attention to the prices of products and services. PayPal Honey members are aware that they can receive additional value and rewards with their online purchases. This means that brands must be strategic in their pricing and promotions to stay competitive in the market.  

Overall, the cost-of-living crisis has put a spotlight on the importance of providing additional value to customers and being transparent in their marketing efforts. Brands that are able to adapt to these changes and focus on meeting the needs of their customers are likely to be best positioned to succeed in the affiliate marketing space.  

Which verticals have you seen the biggest impacts from a business side? 

The affiliate marketing industry has been constantly evolving in the past decade with new trends and publishers coming into the space and shaping online shoppers’ behaviour. PayPal Honey has seen a similar response from brands trying to keep up and satisfy consumer online demand.  
 
The e-commerce sector has been a huge factor in the growth of performance marketing. Many of the big players from this vertical have shifted their budgets into affiliate marketing as a way to increase their sales and reach a wider audience. In addition, PayPal Honey sees more and more smaller e-commerce businesses integrating performance marketing into their strategy to create a new stream of revenue. 

The health and wellness industry is also a vertical that has experienced a significant impact from affiliate marketing. With the growing interest in personal health and wellness, many consumers are seeking out products and services that cater to their needs. PayPal Honey has been instrumental for many of our health and wellness partners by promoting personalised campaigns and subscription-based services which speak directly to their audience unique needs and preferences.  

Finally, in recent years, there has been a significant increase in the number of software and technology companies joining the affiliate marketing programmes. PayPal Honey’s tech partners are looking to leverage the power of affiliate marketing to reach new audiences, drive sales and generate revenue.   

Are there any recommendations for the brands that advertise on your site during these difficult times? 

As mentioned earlier, consumers are feeling the pinch of rising prices, and as a result, they’re becoming more selective with their spending. I strongly believe brands that offer genuine value and transparency in their pricing and promotions could to win over customers in this environment.  
 
Additionally, PayPal Honey would suggest to brands to prioritise long-term partner relationships instead of solely focusing on short term gains. In today’s climate it is important to focus on investing in building trust and credibility with our partners to create sustainable, mutually beneficial relationships.  

What’s your advice to brands in 2023? Where should they focus their time and budgets? 

As we move into 2023, affiliate marketing remains a highly effective way for brands to reach new audiences and generate more sales. To make the most of their affiliate strategies, PayPal Honey recommends these top three tips: 

1. We all know that our industry is very personable – continue to invest and build strong relationships with your top partners: a strong relationship with your affiliates can lead to better performance and more sales. Be sure to communicate regularly with your affiliates, work on exclusive tailored offers which would be appealing to the partner’s audience in order to make the most of each campaign.  
    
2. In today’s challenging financial landscape, one of the attributes that partners value the most about PayPal Honey is that majority of our optimisation strategies are CPA based. This offers a high flexibility and very low risk involvement for our partners. Merchants should create strategies where they can offer higher commission structure which rewards both their affiliates and consumers.  
   While brand exposure and tenancy investment also remain as top priorities, marketing budgets are getting squeezed and it’s extremely important for brands to consider the audience and seasonality relevancy to ensure their KPIs are being met.  
    
3. Finally, this may seem obvious but it’s important for brands to closely monitor their affiliate marketing performance and be ready to adjust their strategies to the ever-changing trends and demand. Don’t be afraid to test new approaches, optimise campaigns and use data as direction to improvement.   

Anything new coming up? What’s exciting for brands and consumers? 

Regardless of the cost-of-living crisis, affiliate marketing continues to be a dynamic and evolving industry, with new trends and technologies emerging all the time.  

Here at PayPal Honey, we are continuously looking at ways to improve the shopping experience and provide value to our members while working closely with our partners. Our team is excited to continue building strong and mutually beneficial partnerships with our merchants and shaping the affiliate marketing space through innovation.  

A huge thank you to PayPal Honey for participating in this series. For more information about affiliate marketing at Summit, take a look at our services pages, or drop us an email.

Disclaimer: The information in this post does not constitute financial, business or investment advice of any kind and does not count as a substitute for any professional advice.  Always do your own research on top and seek professional advice if you want to ensure that what you do is right for your specific circumstances.