RetailMeNot App Commissions Rise 25% After Relaunch

RetailMeNot’s app commissions rose 25% year over year in September 2026, following the August launch of its redesigned Rewards app. Parent company Ziff Davis reported the increase on its November 6 earnings call. It also said the number of signed-in monthly app users had more than doubled after the relaunch.

The app is one way Ziff Davis is trying to reach shoppers directly as fewer visitors arrive through Google. The company reported that organic Google referrals across its properties fell about 37% year over year in the third quarter, with its technology and shopping sites facing steeper declines than its gaming and entertainment sites. The year-over-year decline in Google referrals was about 23% in Q3 2025.

Key Takeaways From the RetailMeNot App Update

• RetailMeNot relaunched its app on August 5 with cashback, an app-only loyalty program, and conversational product search.
• September app commissions rose 25% year over year and reached their highest level of 2026 to that point, according to Ziff Davis.
• Ziff Davis expects search referrals to keep declining and is investing in channels that reach audiences directly.

How the RetailMeNot Rewards App Works

RetailMeNot launched its redesigned Rewards app on iOS and Android on August 5. The company said the app would offer at least 1% cashback at more than 3,500 participating merchants, with some offers eligible to be combined with promo codes. Members earn $5 for every two qualifying purchases of $25 or more in a month, up to $50 in monthly bonuses.

Shoppers can use Smart Search to look for products, compare brands, and find deals by typing a question. A separate price comparison tool, Scout Price, factors eligible savings into the displayed price. RetailMeNot says it also checks promo codes from participating merchants before showing them in the app.

RetailMeNot Chief Commercial Officer Magali Darling described the goal for merchants in the August 5 launch announcement.

At the same time, we’re creating stronger, more meaningful connections between retailers and high-intent shoppers to drive loyalty beyond one-time transactions.

RetailMeNot ran an app-only cashback event from September 21 to 27, featuring a different shopping category each day. Ziff Davis reported September commission growth for the app as a whole, leaving the contributions of the promotion and individual app features unclear.

Ziff Davis Plans for Fewer Search Referrals

Asked why revenue had fallen less than search traffic, Ziff Davis CEO Vivek Shah pointed to social commerce, video, licensing, and the RetailMeNot app as ways the company reaches audiences and earns revenue. He discussed the outlook for search referrals on the earnings call.

We’re not planning on a search recovery and, in fact, are operating with the view that referrals are going to continue to come down.

Revenue in Ziff Davis’s Technology and Shopping segment fell just under 4% year over year in Q3, following a decline of about 5% in Q2.

Shah said links to Ziff Davis content appeared about 2.7 billion times in Google’s AI Overviews and AI Mode during the quarter. An impression counts a link being shown. A click counts someone following it. Affiverse has examined how that distinction affects affiliate attribution in zero-click search.

What the Results Mean for Affiliate Teams

Publishers testing a direct channel can track how many shoppers return after a promotion ends and how much commission those visits generate. Comparing promotional weeks with regular weeks can help separate the effect of a limited-time offer from changes in repeat shopping.

For affiliate managers, the question is how many sales a cashback placement adds and what those sales cost after accounting for commissions and any separately funded incentives. Where a controlled test is possible, a holdout group can help estimate how many orders would have happened without the offer. New-customer share and repeat orders can help assess the contribution of coupon, cashback, and loyalty publishers.