Honey Browser Extension ‘Scam’ – Much Ado About Nothing?

The affiliate channel has certainly been thrust into the spotlight over the past few weeks, with the Honey browser extension taking some serious heat on the back of a video posted by Megalag with the reasonably provocative title of ‘Exposing the Honey Influencer Scam’. In short, Megalag has accused the popular discount code browser extension of hiding the genuinely best discount codes and poaching commission from other affiliates. This has naturally caused a bit of a stir within the affiliate marketing community, and every man and his dog (us included) is chiming in to add to the debate.

What Is Honey?

If you’re new to the affiliate marketing space, mention of the Honey may go over your head. Honey is one of many discount code offerings, taking the form of a browser extension which boasts the internet’s best coupons. Users can click on the extension when they’re about to purchase and, in theory, Honey will then scour the web to find the biggest discount and enable the greatest savings. If a different discount code is used, it’s added to the database for others to benefit from too. 

An Overview Of The Controversy

Controversy started to stir when MegaLag tested the Honey browser extension on multiple sites and was able to find better codes elsewhere. These codes were also not being added to the Honey database, effectively gatekeeping certain discounts despite promising the best. 

In addition, Honey’s approach to commission and discount sharing has come under scrutiny. Traditionally, affiliate marketing offers the benefit of clear tracking through cookies. When affiliates – whether that’s influencers or closed user group discount code sites – promote a product or service through a link, the commission can be easily allocated through the right cookies. However, the Honey browser extension has been accused of removing affiliate cookies and taking the commission, leaving the affiliates with nothing to show for their efforts. 

The Response

Since the MegaLag video, several responses have followed from prominent influencers, many of whom have promoted Honey to their audiences in the past and have shared their frustration too. This has no doubt contributed to the loss of users Honey is seeing, as well as other notable browser extension solutions, as trust in these partners is taking quite a hit.

Along with anger at Honey and its practices, we’ve some equally strong defences within the affiliate channel and beyond. In a world where it feels like you need to be extremely one way or another on any given topic, this is one where the middle ground is actually the place to be.

The Solution?

Having worked in the affiliate space for so long, without looking to advocate for the Honey browser extension in any way, it would be impossible for the solution to have been around for this many years if it did not closely follow network cookie policies. If you feel these policies are flawed is another debate, but networks constantly evolve to keep up with new partner types and provide solutions to keep the playing field as fair as possible.

A possible solution might be the implementation of soft cookies – cookies that do not overwrite other affiliate cookies and only see a sale awarded when no other affiliate cookies are present in the user journey – or applying the stand-down procedure where a partner does not trigger its own cookie when another affiliates cookie is already detected on a user journey. Practices like these are there to make the attribution of credit and commission for sales as fair as possible.

In our experience at Fuel, where Honey is on an affiliate programme there are no examples of it delivering 100% – or anywhere close to that number – of the sales that are being tracked, which is what you could expect to see if Honey is operating exactly how the video explains it to be. 

There are certainly points highlighted by Megalag that have merit, you can find codes outside of Honey for retailers that give a better discount and there can be a few reasons for this. You will also see the Honey cookie override other affiliate cookies when the solution is clicked on by a customer. In most instances, that will mean the allocation of commission will move to them from the affiliate that was the last click prior to them on the customer’s journey. 

What has been disappointing to see – from an affiliate marketer’s perspective – is how readily people have jumped on this example to try and paint the whole channel as a scam and portray the affiliate marketing space as a shady practice of stealing commissions from any retailer possible.

The affiliate marketing space is a vibrant one, with so many potential partners who can help a retailer work towards their goals. It does tend to focus on the sharp end of e-commerce – the conversion aspect – and that doesn’t always sit well with people as we’ve seen in the case of the ‘Honey influencer scam’. However, wherever you stand, it’s important to remember that affiliate rewards are ultimately based on delivering a successful outcome. 

If you are a business keen to explore alternatives to the Honey browser extension or want to find ways to make the affiliate marketing space work best for you, we can help. Get in contact with me online or via seve@fuel-growth.com and we can discuss the best affiliate approach for your needs.