UK Affiliate Industry Soars to £21 Billion—Is Last-Click Attribution Finally Dead?
Ever wondered how a sector can sprint ahead when the rest of the economy is barely jogging along? Well, the UK affiliate channel just did that—smashing through the £21 billion barrier and growing a whopping five times faster than the general economy. Imagine that, during a time when we’re all biting our nails over geopolitical tensions and sluggish 1.4% domestic growth, this beast called performance marketing posts a solid 7.3% increase. It’s like the marketing equivalent of showing up to a rainstorm in a boat while everyone else’s stuck with an umbrella. Makes you think—could this resilience be why performance marketing remains the go-to when budgets tighten and the pressure’s on? Let’s dive into this British success story and what it means for anyone riding the affiliate wave. LEARN MORE.
The UK affiliate channel has crossed the £21 billion revenue mark, growing at five times the rate of the wider UK economy, according to new data presented today by Kevin Edwards, Director of the Affiliate and Partner Marketing Association (APMA), at the organization’s State of the Nation 2026 briefing in London yesterday. Against a backdrop of ongoing economic uncertainty, rising geopolitical tensions, and a domestic economy that grew by just 1.4% last year, the affiliate industry posted 7.3% growth. That performance places it firmly within what Edwards called “a British success story” and validates what many in the channel have long argued: performance marketing holds up precisely when marketing budgets come under pressure.
