Focusing on new customer acquisition is a proven way to scale your brand. Simple Affiliate allows you to offer a specialized New Customer Commission, providing a powerful incentive for your partners to bring in fresh faces rather than just relying on repeat business.
How New Customer Commissions Work
When this feature is enabled for an affiliate group, the system automatically distinguishes between a customer's first-ever purchase and any subsequent orders they place.
New Customer Rate: A specific (usually higher) commission applied only to a customer’s very first purchase.
Default Rate: Your standard group commission that applies to any future orders made by that same customer.
How to Configure the Special Rate
This setting is managed at the Group level, allowing you to offer higher acquisition bonuses to specific tiers of affiliates (like your Top Tier influencers).
Navigate to Affiliate Groups. From your main merchant dashboard, go to the "Groups" section and select the specific group you wish to edit.
Locate Commission Settings. Scroll down to the "Commission settings" area within the group's profile.
Enable the New Customer Rate. Check the box labeled "Set a different commission for new customers."
Enter the Rate. A new input field will appear. Enter the percentage or flat amount you want to award for that first-time sale.
Save Your Changes. Click "Save" to update the group's earnings structure.
Example Scenario
Imagine a group with a 10% Default Rate and a 25% New Customer Rate. Here is how an affiliate's earnings would look:
Order #1 (Jane's First Purchase): Jane spends $100. The affiliate earns $25 (25%).
Order #2 (Jane's Second Purchase): Jane returns a month later and spends $100. The affiliate earns $10 (the 10% default rate).
Important Rules to Remember
Shopify Data Check: The app determines if a customer is "new" by checking their email address against your Shopify customer database. If an email has zero previous orders, the higher rate is triggered.
Default Fallback: If you do not enable this feature, the "Default Rate" is applied to every single sale, regardless of whether the customer is new or returning.
Incentive Transparency: Clearly communicate this structure to your affiliates! Knowing they get a "bounty" for new customers will encourage them to reach out to new audiences.
What Happens Next?
Once saved, the new logic applies to all future referrals generated by members of that group. You can monitor the effectiveness of this incentive by checking your Sales Report to see the ratio of new vs. returning customers.