India’s affiliate commerce push has a measurement blind spot: creators are being paid for trackable transactions while the demand they build often converts elsewhere—on another marketplace, in a physical store or after days of research.
Kalyan Kumar, founder and CEO of influencer marketing platform KlugKlug, estimates that conventional attribution such as UTM links and coupon codes captures only 7–12% of an influencer’s actual impact.
“The industry is effectively rewarding creators for the last click, not the influence they exerted across the purchase journey,” Kumar said.
The last-click problem
At the centre of the debate is the difference between influencing a purchase and generating an immediately attributable sale. A consumer may discover a product through a creator, compare prices across marketplaces, consult AI tools and eventually buy through another platform or offline. The creator may have built the awareness or consideration but receives no affiliate credit.
“Most influencers are not salespeople; their job is to build consideration, trust and demand,” Kumar said. Affiliate marketing can work for creators who position themselves as product curators, he added, but treating commissions as a universal substitute for brand fees is problematic.
Why the commission math looks thin
Shudeep Majumdar, CEO and co-founder of Zefmo Media, says affiliate earnings depend on purchase intent, not follower count. A niche creator who influences buying decisions can outperform a larger entertainment account.
- At a 5% commission, a creator must drive ₹10 lakh in qualifying monthly sales to earn ₹50,000 before expenses and taxes.
- At Amazon India’s 4% commission example, ₹1 lakh in attributed sales yields only ₹4,000 before returns and adjustments.
- Content production and audience development costs are not included, so real earnings can be lower.
From commission-only to hybrid pay
As creators build audiences, they increasingly sell access to their influence rather than guaranteeing a sale, Kumar said. That creates a retention challenge for platforms such as Amazon and Flipkart.
Majumdar argues for a combination of guaranteed content fees and performance-linked commissions. “A stronger model combines payment for content with commission on sales,” he said. Kumar adds that platforms must offer creator discovery, monetisation tools and diversified earning opportunities, not just commissions.
What marketers should watch
If brands optimise only for trackable conversions, they risk undervaluing campaigns that create discovery and consideration. Kumar suggests tracking branded search volumes during campaign periods as an additional signal of influencer-generated demand, though it requires more rigorous testing.
The real test is not how many creators join an affiliate programme, but how many consistently earn meaningful income after accounting for costs. “There is a fundamental difference between building a creator economy and building a low-cost sales channel,” Kumar said.
Source: Storyboard18
