The professionalisation of creators
Creators have stopped being campaign assets, they're becoming campaign architecture
The creator economy has matured. The question is no longer whether creators influence purchasing decisions but what role they now play in the retail ecosystem. Increasingly, brands are moving beyond one-off campaigns to long-term partnerships that build trust over time. The numbers show it's no longer an experiment.
Influencer marketing reached $32.55bn globally in 2025, up from $24bn in 2024, a 35% jump in a single year. The share of total marketing budgets allocated to influence is expected to reach 15% by 2026.
The attribution blind spot
However, last-click attribution systematically undervalues creator influence, which means budgets are often allocated away from channels that are driving conversion. Consumers don't self-report creator content as influence, even when behavioural data shows it shaped the decision. The brands that can't see it working are more likely to underinvest in it.
Depth is beating breadth
60% of brands now work with fewer than 100 creators a year. 93% of UK brands prioritise micro and nano creators, and globally that figure sits at 86%. It shows up in execution too: 58% of health and beauty campaigns are already led by micro and nano influencers. Smaller creators speak to tighter, more engaged audiences, and tighter audiences convert.
Creator influence runs across categories with very different purchase behaviours. 90% of travellers have been influenced by creator content, and of those, 52% went on to book a trip. In health and beauty, 71% of purchases are shaped by it. Categories that look nothing alike, united by how much creators shape buying.
YouTube is its own category
YouTube functions as both a social platform and a search engine, and that dual identity changes how people use it. Users go there looking for information, not to scroll passively. YouTube users are more likely than those on any other platform to act on creator recommendations. They're also more likely to act on AI recommendations, suggesting that it's a higher-intent environment overall.
That puts YouTube creators closer to the authority influencer model than the aspiration influencer model. The tech category shows the same pattern: 70% of consumers research tech products through influencer reviews, and detailed reviews and demos measurably lift purchase likelihood. They're consulted, not just watched.
Retail is shifting from destination to experience. Consumers no longer set out to shop, they discover, decide, and buy inside the communities, creators, and platforms they're already engaged with. We're seeing this play out clearly in college sports, where fan communities, student-athlete creators, and campus culture are becoming genuine commerce environments in their own right. Loyalty is following the same shift: instead of being something customers earn after a purchase, it's becoming the thing that shapes where they choose to shop in the first place. The brands that win over the next few years will be the ones that add value inside those existing moments, not the ones asking consumers to start a separate shopping journey.
Carolina Paradas, General Manager North America, ShopBack
THE MISCONCEPTION
Influencers are a top-of-funnel awareness tool.
They're not. Creators drive consideration and conversion across the full funnel, not just the discovery moment at the start of it. And because most attribution models can't see that happening, most brands are undervaluing one of their most effective growth channels.
KEY TAKEAWAY FOR RETAILERS AND BRANDS
Stop treating creators as media buys.
Start treating them as brand relationships.
YOUR PERSPECTIVE
Are creators part of your campaigns, or part of your long-term growth strategy?
Share your thoughts using #GetAWinWithAwin.
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