The Affiliate Marketing Podcast

If you're running an affiliate program based purely on last-click attribution, you're missing the complete picture of how customers actually buy. Phil Thompson, Partnerships Manager at fintech publisher Zilch, shares insights from their platform's 5 million UK customers to reveal shopping behaviours that challenge everything affiliate managers assume about consumer loyalty, price sensitivity, and partner value. Lee-Ann and Phil discuss why traditional cookie tracking leaves critical gaps, how to leverage first-party data without expensive integrations, and why the grocery shopper who seems loyal to one brand is simultaneously spending three times more with competitors. Talking Points Include: The affiliate channel's unique negotiation problem that happens after the sale instead of before, and why payment processing data fills gaps that cookie consent leaves behindHow Zilch's fee-free credit model converts competitor customers by offsetting the cost of interest-free installments through merchant commissions rather than charging consumers late fees or interestWhy price-led marketing is lazy marketing and what Valentine's Day dinner-for-two campaigns teach us about emotional storytelling that actually changes consumer behavior. Listen to Find Out More About: The exact moment UK consumers became willing to abandon brand loyalty for fee-free payment flexibility, and what this reveals about post-peak shopping psychologyWhy Phil refuses to position Zilch campaigns as integration-heavy when they run on standard Visa rails, and how this changes the barrier to entry for testing new publisher typesHow Intelligent Commerce tracking uses merchant ID data to close attribution gaps that cookie-based models leave wide openThe demographic shift that took Zilch from Gen Z fintech app to cross-generational payment tool, and why cost-of-living pressures create opportunities for value-focused affiliate partnershipsWhy diversification matters more than ever when clicks still exist but shopping behavior fragments across devices, apps, and privacy-conscious browsing Key Segments of This Podcast and Where You Can Tune In to Go Direct: [09:05] How Intelligent Commerce works: using merchant ID and payment processing data to fill attribution gaps that traditional cookie tracking misses [13:16] The consistent age-group patterns Zilch sees in 2025 spending data, and why everyone hunts for value right now, not just younger demographics [22:22] Why one-month campaigns don't typically move consumer behaviour needles, and the longer timeline required to shift shopping habits permanently [25:07] Phil's call for affiliate managers to stay open to testing and learning, even after being burned by publisher types in the past Call to Action The affiliate programs that thrive this year won't be the ones clinging to 2019 playbooks. They'll be the managers who embrace data partnerships, extend attribution visibility beyond cookie tracking, and recognize that publishers deliver value across the entire funnel, not just at conversion. Ready to build a program that leverages first-party shopping intelligence? Work with the KonverJ team to audit your current partner mix and identify the data gaps costing you revenue. We'll help you move beyond last-click thinking and build partnerships that capture the complete customer journey. Send me a text with your questions