This episode exposes the often-hidden problem of affiliate fraud within Shopify brands, where businesses unknowingly pay commissions on sales they would have made anyway. Yash Chavan, founder of Saathi, breaks down how to identify fraudulent activities and implement strategies to ensure your affiliate program drives genuine incremental growth, rather than draining your marketing budget. This is a crucial listen for any ecommerce operator running or considering an affiliate program.
Key takeaways
Implement post-purchase surveys to accurately attribute sales to influencers and affiliates, bypassing the limitations of click tracking alone.
Conduct a 3-step audit for your affiliate program: scan for fraudulent activities, purge inactive or underperforming affiliates, and double down on high performers.
Critically analyze affiliate dashboard data and do not solely rely on it to measure true incrementality; understand that many reported "affiliate sales" may be intercepted sales that would have happened organically.
Distinguish between incentivized sales and genuinely incremental sales to avoid paying commissions on purchases that customers were already likely to make.
Develop clear criteria to measure the true incremental value an affiliate brings to your business to optimize your marketing spend and ensure profitability.
A mom influencer with 3,000 followers pocketed $9K in fraudulent affiliate commissions in 90 days. If you run a Shopify affiliate program, you're likely overpaying too.In this episode, Yash Chavan, founder of Saathi (and Saral), breaks down:Why most affiliate dashboards lie about incrementality, and how to identify affiliates intercepting sales you'd already closeThe post-purchase survey method that surfaces influencer-driven sales your click tracking misses entirelyA 3-step audit for $1M+ Shopify brands: scan for fraud, purge inactive affiliates, double down on high performersWhether you're doing $10K months or $10M years, this conversation delivers strategies you can test this week.📝 Full show notes + resources: https://ecommercefastlane.com/podcast/episode-456/Connect with us:🐦 Twitter: https://twitter.com/stevenhutt💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shutt/📘 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thrivingwithshopify ]]>
What does this episode say about shopify & ecommerce platforms?
Implement post-purchase surveys to accurately attribute sales to influencers and affiliates, bypassing the limitations of click tracking alone.
What does this episode say about paid acquisition?
Conduct a 3-step audit for your affiliate program: scan for fraudulent activities, purge inactive or underperforming affiliates, and double down on high performers.
What does this episode say about analytics & attribution?
Critically analyze affiliate dashboard data and do not solely rely on it to measure true incrementality; understand that many reported "affiliate sales" may be intercepted sales that would have happened organically.
What does this episode say about founder & leadership?
Distinguish between incentivized sales and genuinely incremental sales to avoid paying commissions on purchases that customers were already likely to make.
What does this episode say about shopify & ecommerce platforms?
Develop clear criteria to measure the true incremental value an affiliate brings to your business to optimize your marketing spend and ensure profitability.
