ASIA-PACIFIC MARKETS — Amazon restructured its Associates affiliate program over the past several months, cutting commission rates by as much as 50%, eliminating milestone-based bonuses that rewarded high-performing publishers and degrading reporting tools that affiliates relied on to optimize their campaigns, according to seven publishers and partners with direct knowledge of the changes. The changes began rolling out in Asia-Pacific markets in late 2025 and landed in the United States around March 9.

The restructuring was never publicly announced. Publishers learned of the changes in individual conversations with their Amazon account managers.

The Associates program allows websites, content creators and other partners to earn commissions by referring shoppers to Amazon. The reduction in commission rates of up to 50%, identified by the seven publishers and partners with direct knowledge of the changes, applies across the program.

Alongside the rate cuts, Amazon removed the milestone-based bonuses that had paid out additional compensation to affiliates who hit specified performance thresholds, according to those same publishers and partners. The reporting tools used by affiliates to track referrals, conversions and campaign performance were also scaled back, limiting the data available to optimize promotional activity.

The rollout followed a staggered geographic pattern. Affiliates operating in Asia-Pacific markets encountered the new terms first, in late 2025, before the changes reached the U.S. market around March 9.

Publishers have spent the two months following the U.S. rollout absorbing the financial impact of the lower commissions and lost bonuses, and weighing how aggressively to shift to competing affiliate platforms. The absence of a public announcement meant that information about the scope of the revisions spread through direct outreach from Amazon account managers to individual partners rather than through a centralized communication.

The combination of reduced payouts, the removal of performance incentives and diminished reporting capability has altered the economics of participating in the Associates program for the publishers and partners with direct knowledge of the changes. Their deliberations over the past two months have centered on whether to continue allocating traffic and editorial resources to Amazon referrals at the new rates or to shift a greater share of affiliate activity to rival programs operated by other retailers and networks.