The net financial contribution of the affiliate channel after all direct costs: (affiliate GMV × gross margin rate) − (total commissions + network fees + AM team cost + tool costs). The channel-level profitability metric that determines whether affiliate is additive or dilutive to overall marketing ROI. Programs with high coupon publisher concentration often have acceptable GMV but poor contribution margin (commissions paid on existing-intent customers reduce net margin significantly). Tracked quarterly and compared to paid social contribution margin for the equivalent customer segment.
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