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The Affilitizer browser extension shows you affiliate programs directly in Google results. No extra clicks—see advertisers at a glance.
Merchant tool enables SKU-level overrides to protect margins on low-profit inventory.
Affiliatly introduced SKU-level commission overrides on October 24, 2024, to its affiliate tracking platform. The tool allows e-commerce merchants to set unique commission rates for individual products, addressing a challenge for businesses managing portfolios with varying profit margins.
A technical update from Affiliatly explains that the feature prevents "margin squeeze" on low-profit items. Previously, many small-to-medium affiliate programs relied on flat commission rates across an entire store. This forced merchants to choose between a low global rate that failed to motivate affiliates or a high rate that made sales of low-margin products unprofitable.
The new functionality currently serves merchants using Shopify and BigCommerce. For these users, the system identifies specific Stock Keeping Units (SKUs) and applies a recalculated percentage whenever those items appear in a shopping cart.
While the feature is operational for these major platforms, Affiliatly confirmed that manual integrations require additional configuration. Merchants using custom-built stores must ensure SKU data passes correctly to the tracking script.
This feature will help you if you have a product with low margins and you can not give the standard commission to the affiliate.
The shift toward SKU-based commissioning follows a broader performance marketing trend toward granular data management. By isolating specific products, brands can run aggressive promotions on high-margin house brands. Simultaneously, they maintain a presence for low-margin third-party goods without incurring losses on affiliate payouts.
Affiliates must now pay closer attention to program terms. While a headline commission might reach 10%, specific high-demand or low-margin items might pay significantly less. Conversely, the update allows merchants to offer higher commissions on specific inventory, creating opportunities for niche reviewers and deal sites.
Users activate the feature within the "SKU settings" of the Affiliatly dashboard. The system operates on a percentage-based logic. Regarding flat-fee payouts per product, Affiliatly noted that the percentage-based calculation serves as a functional equivalent to a flat rate if the product price remains stable.
As tracking providers bridge the gap between referral links and complex ERP integrations, SKU-specific commissions are becoming the baseline expectation for affiliate software.
Source: Affiliatly
This article was created with AI assistance and editorially reviewed.