Here is a detailed review, on REI affiliate program.
When it comes to affiliate programs, the list is endless.
Niches like Fashion, Beauty and Tech are blessed with a lot of affiliate programs.
But when we zoom into the outdoor recreation niche, affiliate programs are rare…
Speaking about promoting products for camping and hiking. Rarely, would we see any…
Moreover, REI has an excellent affiliate program in the outdoor niche.
Are you curious about what the REI affiliate program has to offer?
Ohh, I See! Let’s just delve in once and for all.
We will talk about the commission rate, cookie duration, how profitable the affiliate program and how to make cool money from it.
What is REI?
REI is a US based retail company for outdoor recreation products and services.
The company sells camping gear, hiking stuff and other outdoor sporting goods.
Likewise, the company offers outdoor recreation services such as adventures, outdoor courses, outdoor vacation and anything outdoor activities.
The company revenue in 2021 was reportedly $3.7 billion and their number of employees was about 15,000 according to Wikipedia.
Similarly, the company now has about 165 retail stores around the US, all stocked with outdoor products.
Furthermore, they have an affiliate program.
One of a kind indeed.
Reading about it will really help.
How Does REI Affiliate Program Work?
REI affiliate program is a commission per sale affiliate program.
That is you only earn commission when your referral makes a purchase on any products on REI.com.
REI affiliate program has a 5% commission rate per sale plus a 30 days cookie tracking duration.
If you are a blogger, Youtuber, social media influencer or media buyer around the recreation activity niche, you can make money from REI.
The affiliate program is hosted by Avantlink. Hence, for you to join the affiliate program, you need to sign up vua Avantlink.
The affiliate program, unlike the Shein affiliate program, has its own dedicated affiliate page on REI website.
The company offers free delivery for all sales made via affiliate link on their website.
So, which products can you promote then?
What Products Can You Promote in the REI Affiliate Program?
REI has a lot for you to promote with over 3000 products available on the website.
REI has a wide market for camping gear, hiking, climbing, cycling, water, running, fitness, snow, travel equipment, and men, women and kids clothing.
Others are Skiing, Snowboarding, Snowshoeing, Car Racks, Electronics, Packs and Bags, Books and Maps etc.
A shopper can buy any of REI Sporting goods, camping products and outdoor clothing.
You can promote any of their products for men, women and kids.
REI Affiliate Program Commission?
REI affiliate program offers a 5% commission per sale.
Hence, if you should sell a certain cycling wear worth $500, you can earn $25 as your commission.
I think this is a good commission rate especially for a market like this.
Looking at it too, barely would you see an affiliate program of physical products with more than 5% commission rate.
REI Affiliate Program Cookie Duration?
The cookie duration of REI Affiliate program is 15 days.
Hence, if a referral should click on your affiliate link and lands on REI website, purchase must be made within 15 days for you to earn your commission.
Likewise, Any purchase made after the 15 days will not be attributed to you. Hence no commission.
Are you confused? Well, cookie duration can be confusing somehow.
Cookie are data packets used for tracking affiliate referrals.
When a visitor lands on the REI website via an affiliate link, he would be asked to “accept cookies.”
With that, anything your referral does on REI website for the next 15 days -which is the cookie duration- would be tracked.
However, after the 15 days, it would no longer be tracked because the cookies that were accepted earlier are no longer active.
Looking at it, 15 days cookie duration is short. At least, REI could have offered the standard 30 days cookie duration to affiliates.
However, even the 15 days is longer than that offered by Target and Walmart in their affiliate program.
Long story short, the cookie duration is not the standard, neither is it poor.
How to Sign up to REI Affiliate Program?
Recall, you read that the affiliate program is hosted on Avantlink. And signing up would be on Avantlink too.
The main requirement here is that your website must be one with authority. Coupled with the fact that it is optimised to please anyone – adult contents or inane words must be filtered out.
Here are the steps:
- Go to Avantlink
- Fill in the right information about yourself and the website information.
- Click on submit when done.
- Then, wait for the next 1-2 working days for an email notifying you whether you were approved or not.
Can You Make $1000 Monthly From REI Affiliate Program? Is It Worth Trying?
Yes, I believe you can.
REI products can not be considered very cheap but the Quality of their products is high.
In fact, their average product price is $120.
Hence, if you are to promote a $120 product on REI, you can earn $6 from every sale made.
Not bad.
But, this means you will need about 170 sales to make $1000.
For you to make this number of sales you must surely have about 5000 monthly traffic on your website.
Out of which only 3% are expected to convert, and they are the 170 sales you’d be making eventually.
So, if you are going to make $1000 from the affiliate program, it depends on the products and the kind of products you are promoting.
Look out for hot products that will generate good returns on your website while you build massive traffic to your website.
Pros and Cons of REI Affiliate Program
Pros
- Recognised brand: REI is one of the top brands that sells products in outdoor sport and recreation.
- Product variety: Lots of products to promote to your amiable audience.
Cons
- Cookie duration: 15 days cookie duration is shorter than what affiliate would really need to optimize their conversion rate.
Alternatives to REI affiliate Program
REi looked like one of the main pioneers in the outdoor affiliate programs.
Other outdoor retail brands have been leveraging affiliate marketing too.
Anyways, here are the alternative to REI affiliate program:
- Backcountry
- Patagonia
- Osprey
- Marmot
- Camping World
- North Face
- Hyperlite Mountain Gear
- Cabela’s
- Outdoorsy
- EVO
Wrapping Up
There is plenty of scope to make money from your outdoor activities website and one is affiliate marketing.
I’m glad you read this point. It shows you already have a plan to earn via affiliate marketing on your blog.
Won’t you check the review of other outdoor affiliate programs too which can serve as alternatives to REIs’?
