Kohl’s Affiliate Program Review

With over 1,100 stores in 49 of the 50 states, Kohl’s is one of the largest retail store department chains in the United States.

Kohl’s is a one-stop shop for a variety of products: shoes, apparel, home decoration, and more. This all-American department store is famous for its frequent sales, Black Friday discounts, and Kohl’s Cash.

Following the footsteps of hundreds of other retailers, Kohl’s has an affiliate program that pays out a commission on each sale. The program is geared toward those who own a website and want to promote Kohl’s products.

With its customer-friendly business model and variety of products, Kohl’s affiliate program is quite popular. We will explore some of the details, such as how to join the program, the most popular products sold at Kohl’s, how much commission you can earn, affiliate tools and support, and more.

Overall, we believe that the Kohl’s Affiliate program is worth it. Since its part of Impact Radius, participants get useful tools to help drive traffic and monitor sales. Gaining access to the affiliate program is simple and Kohl’s has a huge collection of products that you can promote.

Key Factors:

3% commission rate on sales

Cookies last for 30 days

How to Join the Kohl’s Affiliate Program

Impact Radius manages Kohl’s affiliate program. It’s not difficult to gain acceptance into the program – Kohl’s accepts most websites that follow its conditions and rules. Anyone interested in the program must fill out a five-step application that asks for information such as a website URL, address, time zone, and bank location country.

While Kohl’s doesn’t explicitly say how long it takes to get approved, we estimate that you should receive a response within a week. If you have a somewhat reputable and developed website, you should not have a problem joining the program.

Kohl’s Affiliate Commission Rules and Rates

Based on our review of Kohl’s Department Stores, Inc. Special Terms agreement, the rules are consistent with other affiliate programs. As expected, affiliate websites can not have offensive material such as content that promotes violence or discriminates based on race.

Furthermore, media partners can not bid on Kohl’s brand name or any misspellings. Kohl’s explicitly lays out common misspellings:

Kohls
Kohl
Kols.com
Kol

Kohl’s also suggests that affiliate websites do not advertise coupons over 20% as Kohl’s does not pay out commission on coupon codes that exceed 20%. Also, Kohl’s agreement states that it has the right to limit payouts for certain products or transactions using its discretion.

Through the Kohl’s affiliate program, participants can earn a 3% commission on each qualified sale. In our opinion, this rate is consistent with similar department stores that have affiliate programs through Impact Radius. To earn the payout, the customer must visit Kohl’s website via a qualifying link placed on the affiliate participant’s website.

In addition to the 20% plus coupon caveat, there are a few other scenarios in which affiliate participants will not earn a commission.

Kohl’s structures its affiliate program based on SKUs. Four different SKUs do not earn commission: Kohl’s Cares products, jewelry priced over $2,000, gift cards, and gaming. Kohl’s does not elaborate on what falls under the “gaming” category, so it’s best to inquire directly before promoting any gaming products.

Affiliate Tools and Support

It’s clear that Kohl’s and Impact Radius joined together to create an affiliate program that fully supports its participants.

Impact Radius alone provides powerful reporting, cross-platform tracking, and an efficient workflow. Kohl’s also offers several tools and support mechanisms that help participants both manage sales and increase sales:

A monthly newsletter that features previews of upcoming sales
Prioritized communication channels
Numerous offers to promote (Kohl’s Cash, free shipping, etc.)
An experienced team dedicated solely to Kohl’s affiliate business
Free store pickup
Communication on key products
A wide range of brand and category commissions

Pros and Cons of Kohl’s Affiliate Program

While Kohl’s has a strong and popular affiliate program, it still has its pros and cons. After reviewing the program, we came up with a list of the top pros and cons:

Pros

Strong brand recognition and over 1,000 stores in the United States
Frequent promotions and incentives such as Kohl’s Cash
Convenient affiliate management tools available via Impact Radius
Free store pickups and free standard shipping

Cons

At 3%, the commission rate is somewhat low
Affiliate participants do not earn commissions when coupons greater than 20% are applied

Frequently Asked Questions

Does it cost money to join Kohl’s affiliate program?
There is no cost to join Kohl’s affiliate program.

How much commission does Kohl’s pay on each sale?
Kohl’s pays 3% on each qualified sale.

What types of products are part of Kohl’s affiliate program?
All products are eligible except when a discount is applied that exceeds 20%.

How Long can you inquire about a transaction?
Affiliate participants have 30 days post the transaction date to submit an inquiry.

How Long does an affiliate agreement with Kohl’s last?
An affiliate agreement with Kohl’s is not for a set period. Kohl’s may terminate the agreement at any time with its own discretion.

What is Kohl’s return policy?
Customers can return in-store and online purchases up to 180 days after the purchase date. Certain items, such as premium electronics, must be returned within 30 days.

How long does it take Kohl’s to pay a commission after a sale?
According to the program terms, payments are scheduled 60 days after the end of the month in which they lock.

Is there a referral window for affiliate participants?
Yes, Kohl’s program terms state that it allows referrals from clicks within seven days.

Related Programs

After reviewing Kohl’s affiliate program, we concluded that the most similar programs also flow through the Impact Radius network. These programs have similar commission rates and tools to help you manage your sales. Below are the most similar programs:

Cabela’s

Owned by Bass Pro Shops, Cabela’s is a popular specialty retailer that sells outdoor recreational gear. Like Kohl’s, Cabela’s affiliate program is through Impact Radius. The program is free to join and pays up to 5% in commission.

Cabela’s provides participants with useful tools such as a dedicated management team, pre-written articles, and newsletters. The application process is simple and very similar to that of Kohl’s.

Ivory Ella

Ivory Ella is an online clothing store that has a partnership with Save the Elephants, an organization that promotes the conversation efforts of elephants.

The company was founded in 2015, so it is new to the market. Despite having only been around for half a decade, the company has already donated more than two million dollars to Save the Elephants.

When you join Ivory Ella’s affiliate program, you can also contribute to elephant conservation efforts. While Ivory Ella does not give a lot of information about its program, we do know that it is managed by Impact Radius and that it pays a 10% commission on each sale. Moreover, cookies last for 30 days, meaning you have a better chance at earning commissions.

Fanatics

Kohl’s sells a variety of fan wear, ranging from college teams to professional sports. We chose Fanatics as a related program because it is in the business of selling fan gear – hats, jerseys, shirts, and more.

Depending on the products sold, Fanatic’s affiliate program pays up to 10% commission on each sale.

With the help of Impact Radius, Fanatics provides a lot of the same tools that Kohl’s affiliate program provides. We should note that Fanatics explicitly states that participants cannot use Pay-Per-Click (PPC) advertising or paid ads on Facebook without its permission.

How to Promote Kohl’s Online

Since Kohl’s sells such a huge variety of products, you may want to consider a certain niche. Take men’s cowboy boots, for example.

It is easier to generate organic traffic by creating long-tail keywords geared toward a certain category of products. The best strategy is to look for the best-selling men’s boots at the highest prices. Keep in mind, Kohl’s only pays a 3% commission on each sale.

Be extra mindful when choosing keywords to rank. One of Kohl’s most expensive pairs of boots, Dan Post Bayou Caiman cowboy boots retails for $461. If you Google “Dan Post Bayou Caiman cowboy boots” you will get 634,000 results.

I can’t imagine how much it would cost to rank that keyword. The top results display well-established websites such as the Dan Post brand, Amazon, and Nashville Boots. A long-tail keyword such as “Dan Post Bayou Caiman cowboy boots for big feet” might prove better results.

A more affordable way to drive traffic to a website and get sales is by writing blog posts. These blog posts should not be jam-packed with keywords, but rather fluid and informative. Blog posts will not drive traffic right away, but they do help grow organic traffic over time. Consistently posting is another way to rank higher on Google.

Create a content calendar (one to three articles per week) and stick with it. To maximize earnings, it’s a good idea to write articles that link to a variety of different products (ideally products with more than 3% commission).

Overall, we think that Kohl’s affiliate program is a good choice for someone that has an existing website and doesn’t need to put in a lot of work. If you’re starting from scratch, there are alternative affiliate programs that offer higher payouts.