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Baby Bunting

Empowering Growth and Efficiency Through Self-Managed Partnership Automation

The Results

By transitioning to Rakuten Advertising’s partnership automation platform and leveraging expert support from the Customer Success team, Baby Bunting unlocked new levels of performance and efficiency from the affiliate channel (Date range 1 January – 30 June compared to prior year. Numbers relate to Baby Bunting’s affiliate channel only.)

+34%

increase in revenue YoY

+26%

increase in clicks YoY

15%

reduction in Cost
Per Acquisition

+24%

uplift in ROAS

About the Brand

Baby Bunting is Australia’s largest specialty nursery retailer, dedicated to supporting families with a comprehensive range of products and expert advice for every stage of parenthood. With a robust omnichannel presence, Baby Bunting is committed to delivering exceptional value and service to new and expectant parents nationwide.

The Story

As Australia’s leading nursery retailer, Baby Bunting recognised the need to modernise its partnership strategy to stay ahead in a rapidly evolving retail landscape. The limitations of a traditional managed service model including reduced agility, limited transparency, and challenges in optimising spend, prompted the brand to seek a self-managed approach. Baby Bunting partnered with Rakuten Advertising for its advanced automation platform and the dedicated support of the Customer Success team.

From onboarding to ongoing optimisation, Rakuten Advertising’s Customer Success experts played a pivotal role. They guided Baby Bunting through a program audit, provided strategic consultation, and empowered the internal team to realign publisher strategy and drive scalable new customer acquisition. This collaborative partnership enabled Baby Bunting to unlock the full potential of its partnership program and achieve measurable growth.

The Rakuten Advertising Solution

Rakuten Advertising collaborated closely with Baby Bunting to deliver a comprehensive, technology-driven solution that empowered the internal team and maximised program impact. By embracing partnership automation and the strategic enablement of Rakuten Advertising’s Customer Success team, Baby Bunting transformed its approach to partnership management. The shift to a self-managed program delivered transparency, scalability, and measurable impact—empowering the brand to achieve efficient new customer acquisition, and seamless integration of digital and in-store strategies.

Enhanced Partner Discovery & Recruitment

Leveraging our Partnership Discovery, Baby Bunting proactively identified, recruited, and onboarded 50 new high-value partners. This strategic expansion diversified the partnership portfolio and aligned with the brand’s new customer acquisition goals.

Dynamic Commissioning
for ROI

By implementing Dynamic Commissioning rules directly within the platform, Baby Bunting gained granular control over commission structures, differentiating between new and existing customers. This approach drove a 17% decrease in CPA for new customers and a 24% increase in ROAS, ensuring spend was optimised for maximum return (numbers relate to affiliate channel only).

Data-Driven Strategy & Omnichannel Integration

With access to the Insights & Analytics Portal, Baby Bunting’s team could autonomously refine strategy using real-time benchmarking and competitor intelligence. Unique partnerships with card-linking platforms extended the brand’s reach, driving measurable offline sales and in-store traffic, and creating a seamless omnichannel experience.

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