Rakuten and impact.com combine platform infrastructure and performance services
Rakuten International and impact.com announced a strategic alliance on April 28, 2026, according to a PRNewswire release issued by Rakuten International. The companies say the collaboration is designed to modernize affiliate and performance marketing by combining Rakuten Advertising's global partner relationships, managed services and performance intelligence with impact.com's technology platform and marketplace.
The announcement positions the alliance as a unified ecosystem for commerce partnerships. Rakuten Advertising is expected to contribute strategic expertise, program management and global execution, while impact.com provides infrastructure for contracting, tracking and payments across partnerships.
For advertisers, the companies frame the move as a way to improve campaign control, measurement and performance visibility. Rakuten Rewards is also part of the value proposition: the companies say its consumer reach and shopping signals can help advertisers understand incrementality, attribution and long-term customer value more clearly.
Publishers and creators are expected to gain access to a broader combined ecosystem of advertisers, offers and monetization models. The release describes opportunities across affiliate, creator and commerce channels, reflecting how partnership marketing is expanding beyond classic affiliate links into influencer, referral and content-led commerce.
The alliance also has a technology roadmap. Rakuten Advertising will continue developing AI, analytics, automation and monitoring capabilities, while Rakuten Rewards and impact.com plan to collaborate on real-time tracking, attribution and enhanced shopper incentives.
Amit Patel, CEO of Rakuten International, said the alliance combines infrastructure, service excellence, global reach and consumer intelligence. David A. Yovanno, CEO of impact.com, said partnership marketing has become a key growth channel but remains fragmented, and that the combined proposition is intended to improve economics, transparency and measurable outcomes.
Rakuten and impact.com said they plan to share additional capabilities in the coming months, including around Rakuten Optimism US in Scottsdale and impact.com's iPX event in Austin. For the affiliate industry, the announcement signals further consolidation between network services, platform infrastructure and commerce data.
Affilitizer Editorial Team
This article was created with AI assistance and editorially reviewed.
