The influencer maThe influencer marketing industry is currently worth a whopping $32.55 billion. 

And is it any wonder? For ecommerce companies, working with influencers is a vital way to increase brand awareness and sell your productsThey’ll help promote your brand and sell your products. 🛒 

But what type of influencer should you use? And what channel will work best? Check out this round-up of influencer marketing statistics to get started.

Influencer marketing statistics: key takeaways ‍

• Brands get $4.12 for every $1 spent on influencer campaigns on IG
• Brands see an increase in affiliate sales when using influencers
• 84% of brands believe influencer marketing is effective
• 50% of brands are allocating up to 50% of their marketing spend to influencer marketing

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The importance of influencer marketing for ecommerce brands 

Here's why having influencer marketing in your digital marketing mix is still a great strategy for 2026. Here are some stats to make you think twice.

The influencer marketing industry is projected to reach $31.2 billion by 2027

The influencer marketing industry keeps growing. According to HypeAuditor, the market is projected to grow from $19.8 billion in 2024 to $31.2 billion by 2027 — a 57.5% increase.

That growth is being driven by things like influencer gifting programs, affiliate marketing, UGC creation costs, agency fees, and better technology and analytics tools. It also shows that influencer marketing is no longer a side experiment — it’s becoming a core part of how brands drive awareness, engagement, and sales.

Source: Source: HypeAuditor, 2025

71% of organisations increased their influencer marketing investment year-on-year

According to CreatorIQ, the majority of brands and businesses have increased their investment into influencer marketing year-on-year since 2021. What’s more, the average annual influencing marketing budget has increased by an impressive 171% YoY (between 2024-2025). This goes to show how much weight brands are putting on influencer marketing. 

Source:CreatorIQ, 2026

Brands are allocating up to 50% of their marketing spend to influencer marketing

Despite flat overall marketing budgets (around 7.7% of company revenue), many brands are shifting budget away from traditional channels and putting 20%–30% — and in some cases up to 50% — of their marketing spend into influencer marketing.

Source: Marketing Week, 2026

Influencer-generated content powers your whole funnel

Influencer-generated content (IGC) is one of the biggest wins you can get from a creator campaign — it fuels every stage of the buyer journey, from awareness to conversion.

Instead of relying solely on in-house shoots, smart brands repurpose IGC across:

• Organic social
• Paid ads
• Email
• Website / product pages

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And the impact is real: brands have saved 23% on average on content creation costs by repurposing IGC, and 60% of marketers say influencer-generated content performs better than other brand-directed content.

Source: Aspire, 2025

‘Day in the life’ videos are a top format (but not the only one)

‘Day in the life’ videos are tied as one of the most commonly watched influencer content types — but there’s no single content style that dominates.

Preferences also vary by audience: baby boomers lean towards how-to and recipes, millennials favour reviews, and Gen Z likes ‘get ready with me’ videos.

This is a reminder not to default to one creator format. You’ll get better results (and waste less budget) when you brief influencers to create the style their audience already chooses to watch — whether that’s everyday routines, reviews, or instructional content.

Source: Aspire, 2025. 

TikTok influencer marketing statistics 

31% of marketers are investing in TikTok over other platforms 

Tiktok is a fast-paced platform. Trends come and go quickly and if you spend too long trying to perfect your content, you’ll likely miss the boat. 

That’s why 32% of brands are increasing investment on the platform. And 31% are using it to test content. It’s a great place post and iterate on new creative to see what lands. 

Source: Influencer Marketing Hub, 2026

TikTok is built for younger audiences and high engagement

TikTok remains one of the most powerful platforms for influencer marketing — especially if you’re trying to reach younger shoppers. HypeAuditor found that 53% of TikTok users are under 24, and 56.2% of users are female.

It’s also a platform where smaller creators do especially well: nano-influencers on TikTok have an average engagement rate of 10.3%, making them the strongest-performing tier on the platform.

If your brand targets younger audiences and wants highly engaging creator content, TikTok still deserves a place in your mix.

Source: HypeAuditor, 2025

TikTok Shop is helping turn creator content into sales

TikTok’s social commerce growth is giving brands even more reason to invest in influencer campaigns. Since its U.S. launch in September 2023, TikTok Shop hit $100 million in sales on Black Friday 2024 alone.

That’s a strong sign that TikTok isn’t just a discovery channel anymore — it’s becoming a serious commerce platform too, especially for brands that can pair creator content with native shopping experiences.

Source: HypeAuditor, 2025

50% of marketers believe TikTok offers the best ROI 

The popularity of TikTok has creeped up over the last few years. Currently, it’s the number one channel where brands believe they’ll get the best ROI from short-form video content. This is important for brands who want to invest in influencer marketing: it can guide you on what type of content and which platform would best to spend money on. However, with the imminent TikTok ban in the US, this is likely to change very soon. 

Source: Influencer Marketing Hub, 2024

78% of users purchased a product after seeing it featured in TikTok creator content

A whopping 78% of TikTok users said they bought a product after seeing it featured in creator content. That’s a big number, and shows just how influential TikTok creators and influencers can be. 

Source: TikTok, 2024

TikTok is the best platform for social commerce 

Social commerce is a way for brands to sell products directly through social media. You can set up shops through channel features such as TikTok Shop and shoppable video ads. This is definitely worth investigating as 36% of UK consumers say TikTok is the best social media platform to buy products on. 

💡 TikTok expert, Ashley Wright, says TikTok Shop is the channel you should be looking out for 2024. 

Source: Traackr, 2024

Want more tips on how to build your TikTok strategy? Check out our podcast with Piglet In Bed, who have built a huge community on the channel. 

CPG is one of the most popular product categories on TikTok 

Great news for brands that sell consumer packaged goods - this is one of the most popular product categories on TikTok. And 30% of TikTok users who discover a CPG product buy it immediately. That’s because TikTok is built for visual storytelling, which makes it a powerful channel for products that look good on camera or can be demonstrated quickly. 

This all means that if you work in CPG and you’re not currently working with influencers, you’ll want to consider it as part of your ecommerce marketing strategy. 

Just take OLIPOP, a popular food and beverage brand who regularly lean on influencers to promote their products. 

Source: Sprout Social, 2025

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Instagram influencer marketing stats 

Influencer costs per Instagram post

Taking a look at your influencer marketing spend? Here’s a breakdown of the different types of influencers you can hire, along with their cost per Instagram post:

• Nano (1k-10k followers) - $10-$100
• Micro (10k-50k) - $110-$500
• Mid (50k-500k) - $500-$5000
• Macro (500k-1M) - $5000-$10,000

Note: These are rough averages and the price of influencer content will vary from person-to-person. Instagram influencers, especially nano and micro-influencers, are becoming increasingly popular for their high engagement rates and affordability.

Source: Influencer Marketing Hub, 2024

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The global spend on influencer marketing on Instagram is predicted to reach $19.8 billion

Hype Auditor predict that the global IG spend on influencer marketing will reach a whopping $19.8 billion. However, they also see how brands are moving more towards UGC, gifting and affiliate marketing to help spread the costs.

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Instagram is the second-best channel for influencer marketing

While TikTok has surged in popularity for influencer marketing, Instagram remains one of the most widely used platforms for creator partnerships.

According to Influencer Marketing Hub’s benchmark research, Instagram and TikTok dominate influencer marketing campaigns, with the majority of brands using one or both platforms as core parts of their strategy.

That means Instagram is still a critical channel for ecommerce brands running influencer campaigns — especially for product discovery, lifestyle content, and creator collaborations.

Source: Influencer Marketing Hub, 2026

Markets plan to focus on Instagram for influencer marketing

Last year, 84% of marketers said they were using Instagram for their influencer marketing efforts. That was followed by TikTok (77%) and YouTube (43%). 

Source: Aspire, 2025. 

Reels are the most important content format on Instagram

If you’re investing in Instagram influencer marketing, Reels should be a priority. HypeAuditor found that Reels are the most popular Instagram content format and outperform images and carousels on engagement and estimated reach.

In 2024, influencers created 1.4 billion Instagram posts, including 93 million sponsored or likely sponsored posts, generating an estimated $236 billion in Earned Media Value (EMV).

That’s a huge signal for ecommerce brands: if you’re working with creators on Instagram, brief for content that feels native to the platform — especially Reels-first content that’s built to stop the scroll.

Source: HypeAuditor, 2025

Facebook influencer marketing stats 

Facebook ads can reach 1.98 billion people 

Facebook is buzzing with ads. You don’t need a stat to see this, just head to your feed and you won’t be able to get away from them. Facebook ads have the potential to reach 2.11 billion of its active users. 🤯 Combine that with some influencer marketing ads and you’re onto a winner. 🏆

Want some FB ad inspo? Check out our article all about creating Facebook Ads (and how to create some 🔥graphics for your campaigns). 

Source: Demand Sage, 2025

Facebook was voted second-best for influencer marketing ROI

Facebook ties with YouTube when it comes to the best ROI for your influencer marketing campaigns. Marketers also voted Instagram as the best channel for influencer ROI, so a combination of these platforms could be a safe bet for 2025.  

Source: HubSpot, 2024

Millennials make up the majority of Facebook users

If you’re targeting millennials - that’s people born between 1981 and 1995 (which makes them between the ages 27 and 42 in 2023) - it’s worth using Facebook to grab their attention because they make up the majority of users on Facebook. In contrast, Gen Z (people born after 1995) are the least likely to use Facebook - you’re better targeting them on TikTok. 

Source: Traackr, 2024

YouTube influencer marketing stats 

YouTubers achieved a of 73% engagement rate 

Looks like long-form video content is on the rise (again). Turns out YouTubers get an average 73% engagement rate. This suggests that viewers are interested in longer creator content, and could be an area for your brand to focus on when looking for affiliates and YouTube partnerships. 

Source: Aspire 2025. 

YouTube is still a key influencer marketing channel

YouTube continues to play an important role in influencer marketing. According to HypeAuditor, 75% of marketers believe YouTube is an important content type for influencer marketing, and 55% of internet users turn to video for information about products or services before buying.

That makes YouTube especially valuable for brands selling products that benefit from demos, explainers, reviews, and more in-depth storytelling.

Source: HypeAuditor, 2025

YouTube has the highest engagement rate for influencer video content 

YouTube influencers receive the highest engagement rate (49%) - calculated by the number of likes, comments and shares of a video. 

Source: Aspire, 2024

YouTube has the highest cost-per-mile (CPM) 

The CPM measurement is the cost an advertiser pays per 1000 views on a video. Out of all social channels, YouTube has the highest CPM. So for every 1000 views on a YouTube video, advertisers pay $20. Next is Instagram Stories and TikTok at $15. And Instagram reels at $10.

What can you take away from this? Advertisers think YouTube is a great option for getting in front of potential customers. So if you can work with an influencer on some content for YouTube, you’re in for some good results.  

Source: Aspire: 2024

70% of viewers have made a purchase after seeing a brand on YouTube 

If people are watching your brand on YouTube - whether it’s product demos or tutorials - there’s a fairly high chance they’re going to make a purchase. It’s worth dipping your toes into this channel if you’ve not already. 

Source: Dash, 2024

Influencer costs per YouTube post 

If you’re considering working with influencers on YouTube, here’s a rough breakdown of how much they’ll charge. 

Nano: $20 - $200 per video 

Micro: $200 - $1,000 per video 

Mid: $1,000 - $10,000 per video 

Macro: $10,000 - $20,000 per video 

Mega: $20,000 + per post 

Source: Influencer Marketing Hub, 2024

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The ROI of influencer marketing campaigns

If you’re thinking of launching an influencer marketing campaign as part of your marketing strategies, you might have to convince your boss that it’s the right move. Here are some stats to give you an idea on the ROI you can expect.

Brands get $4.12 for every $1 spent on influencer campaigns on IG

That’s right! According to HypeAuditor’s report, you can get - on average - $4.21 for every $1 you spend with an influencer on Instagram. So for that $500 post with your micro-influencer, you could see a wallet-tingling $2,105 in return. Brands are increasingly allocating significant portions of their influencer marketing spend to leverage these high returns.

Source: HypeAuditor, 2023

21% of marketers repurpose IGC on their website and product pages

IGC stands for influencer-generated content. If you’ve got permission from your creators, you can repurpose this content across different channels and platforms. It seems the most popular way to repurpose IGC is by adding it to your product pages.

Ecommerce brands like Starface actually use images by creators instead of product images on some of their pages.

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Source: Aspire, 2024

Nano-influencers on TikTok have the lowest cost-per-engagement

Cost-per-engagement (CPE) is measured differently across different platforms. But in general, it indicates how much a like, share or comment is worth on an influencer’s post. When putting a budget together for your influencer campaigns, it’s worth noting that nano-influencers (people with less than 10k followers) have the lowest CPE on TikTok over any other influencer group and channel. And Facebook has the highest with a whopping $15.30 per click!

Here’s a rough breakdown of CPE’s across Instagram, TikTok, YouTube and Facebook.

• Instagram: $0.05
• TikTok: $0.27
• YouTube: $0.51
• Facebook: $15.30

Source: Aspire, 2024

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Over 50% of influencer charge between $250 - $1000 per post

Let’s talk about how much your influencer campaigns might cost - according to Sprout Social, 24% of influencers charge between $251-$500 per post, and %23 charge between $501-$1,000.

Source: Sprout Social, 2024

Running your influencer marketing campaign 

So what about actually launching that influencer campaign you’ve been thinking about as part of your marketing strategy? 

80% of companies are dedicating budget towards influencer marketing

Influencer marketing is now a core channel for many brands. According to the Influencer Marketing Hub benchmark report, a large majority of marketers allocate a dedicated budget to influencer marketing, reflecting how mainstream creator collaborations have become.

Many brands also rely on specialist tools and platforms to manage influencer campaigns. These tools help teams find creators, manage partnerships, track campaign performance, and streamline communication.

In addition, brands often run influencer marketing using short-term campaign partnerships, although long-term creator relationships are becoming more common as companies focus on building stronger connections with audiences.

Source: Influencer Marketing Hub, 2025

We’ve got a list of influencer marketing tools that’ll help you plan, manage and report on your campaigns.

Ambassador programs deliver the highest ROI (and creators prefer them)

A brand ambassador is a creator you work with on an ongoing basis — not just for a one-off post. They’ll typically create regular content, promote key launches, and become a familiar face for your brand over time (sometimes with perks like monthly gifting, commission, or a retainer).

Ambassador programs made up just 11% of campaigns on Aspire, but they delivered the highest ROI for brands in Aspire’s survey — a strong signal that long-term creator relationships pay off.

These partnerships tend to feel more authentic over time, helping brands build trust with a creator’s audience (aka your future customers). And it’s not just a brand win: 62% of creators say they prefer long-term partnerships over any other type of campaign.

Source: Aspire, 2025

Advertising and affiliate marketing statistics 

Many brands use influencers to boost organic engagement and brand awareness on social media. But you can also use them to directly drive sales, too. 

Increase in affiliate sales when using influencers

You can team up with influencers for your paid marketing through affiliate programs. They’ll promote your products on their channels. This could be on YouTube, Instagram, their podcast or blog—wherever their audience hangs out. They’ll also share special discount codes for their followers. For every sale made using the code, the influencer earns a commission. It's a great way for you to boost sales and get your brand out there while offering your influencers an incentive, too. 

And it’s a worthwhile tactic because, according to Aspire, you could see a staggering +2,200% increase in affiliate sales if you use influencers in your campaigns. 🤯

Source: Aspire, 2024

30% decrease in CPA when IGC is used instead of brand-produced content 

You could see up to a 30% decrease in cost per acquisition (CPA) when using influencer-generated content compared to standard brand-produced content. This underscores the effectiveness of influencer-driven campaigns in acquiring customers at a lower cost.

Source: Aspire, 2024

The use of AI in influencer marketing

As we head into 2026, there’s no getting away from AI. But no matter your feelings about it, you can certainly use it to your advantage. Whether you’re using it to help automate your influencer campaigns, or working with AI influencers to help promote your products—here are some interesting statistics to get you thinking. 🤖 

• 75% of marketers believe influencer marketing can be automated 
• 63% of marketers say they’ll use AI in their influencer campaigns 
• 75% of people would want influencers and platforms to disclose the use of AI
• 37% of consumers say they’re more likely to be interested in a brand who uses an AI influencer (which rises to 46% amongst Gen Z) 
• 24% of marketers believe AI is useful in saving time on campaign management 
• 44% of people want brands to disclose when they’re using AI 

Source : Traackr, Morning Consult and Influencer Marketing Hub, Sprout Social 2026, 2025

If you’re wondering what an AI influencer can look like in 2025, take Granny Spills — a viral, AI-generated ‘grandma’ character on TikTok/Instagram that’s been pulling in huge views and likes, built using modern generative video + AI writing tools.

It’s a good example of where things are heading: AI characters that can be produced fast, scaled easily, and still feel entertaining enough to stop the scroll (even as questions around disclosure and “unoriginal content” flags start to crop up).

Tips on working with influencers

The relationships between you and your social media influencers are super important. Particularly as both influencers and brands prefer long-term partnerships. Check out these stats to see how other brands work with influencers:

Most people expect sponsored influencer content — but they also expect transparency

Most social media users understand that influencer content is often paid for. In fact, only 5% of U.S. adults say the influencers they follow ‘never’ post sponsored content.

But the key is disclosure. 53% of adults say the influencers they follow are ‘always’ or ‘often’ explicit when content is sponsored — and that expectation holds broadly across demographics.

Additionally, understanding the behavior and preferences of social media users is crucial for crafting effective marketing strategies, as this audience is increasingly resistant to traditional branded content.

Source: Aspire, 2025

Product seeding is becoming a go-to influencer strategy

Product seeding is when brands gift products to creators (often in volume) to encourage organic content, usually without a formal paid partnership. Product seeding had a big moment this year, accounting for nearly 20% of campaigns on Aspire. On average, brands gifted products to 20–100 creators per month, often with no obligation to post.

Instead of one-off gifting, brands are getting more creative — using exclusive merch, limited-edition drops, and elevated PR experiences to spark organic sharing. 

While most seeding campaigns are termless, creators are far more likely to post when gifting feels thoughtful and personal. Done well, product seeding can quietly turn into a high-impact way to build buzz and long-term creator loyalty — without relying on paid posts alone.

Source: Aspire, 2025

Most brands work with 10 influencers or less (but that’s changing)

Most brands keep their creator programs fairly small — the vast majority partner with 10 influencers or fewer at any given time. But with more marketers planning to bring more creators into the mix, teams need to make sure they’ve got the right systems in place to find, onboard, manage, and track a growing roster (without it turning into spreadsheet chaos).

Source: Sprout Social, 2026

How to be successful with influencer marketing in 2026

Now you’re equipped with a bunch of influencer marketing statistics and strategies, what does this mean for your campaigns this year? Here are some key themes to consider:

Pick the right tools for your campaigns: You can’t do everything in spreadsheets and shared drives, so make sure you pick tools that’ll help achieve your campaign goals. For instance, Dash (that’s us) is a really handy tool for ecommerce brands who need to manage and share their visual content. Influencers can upload their content to Dash using our guest upload feature. This cuts down on endless email chains and large file transfers. You can also set expiry dates and usage rights so your teams know what content they can repurpose for future campaigns.

🤓Take a read of our post to discover more influencer marketing tools.

Spend time finding influencers that your audience trusts: Your audience is way more likely to engage with your campaigns if they already trust the influencers you work with. Plus, more and more people prefer to watch ‘regular’ people, rather than celebrities. Check out tools like Shopify Collabs and Klear to help you find niche influencer recommendations.

If you’re on a tight budget, work with nano-influencers on TikTok: If they fit with your brand’s audience and goals, start by working with TikTok nano-influencers - they’ve got the lowest cost-per-engagement across all social channels. Once you can start proving the ROI of your campaigns, you could begin scaling on different platforms.

Focus on video content: Whether you’re creating stories on Instagram or long-form videos on YouTube, most stats point to video content being the best type of content for engagement and conversions.

🎧 You can listen to our podcast with Toby from Nusa Films to learn how to create thumb-stopping videos for social.

Repurpose your influencer content: If your influencers give you permission to, you can repurpose their content across different platforms. You could use them in ads, on your product pages - anywhere that feels appropriate. This is a great money-saver and will save you time planning new content in a hurry.

If you want statistics on other marketing strategies, check out our other articles: 

• Ecommerce marketing statistics 
• Video marketing statistics 

Organising your influencer content 

Planning and collaborating on influencer campaigns is no quick task. You’ll need a place to store and manage your content, and keep track of how well your campaigns are doing. 

Well, you can do all that with Dash - that’s us! 😇

Our digital asset management tool (DAM) is the home for visual content. Influencers and creators can upload content to Dash, you can give them feedback and deploy images and videos to your social channels - particularly useful if you’re repurposing content in the future. You can also tag content by how well they’ve performed in your campaigns.

Interested?

You can try Dash for free for 14 days. ✨👇

Influencer marketing statistics FAQs

1. How many companies use influencer marketing?

Most do. Recent industry surveys show that about 86% of marketers/brands use influencer marketing in 2025 (up from 83% in 2024). In other words, influencer marketing is now a mainstream channel rather than an ‘extra.’

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2. Does influencer marketing actually work for ecommerce?

Yes, the majority of brands report strong results. In Sprout Social’s 2025 data, influencer marketing is widely rated effective, especially when brands take an ‘always-on’ approach rather than one-off posts. 

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3. What type of influencer should I work with?

It depends on your goal, but nano- and micro-influencers tend to deliver the best engagement for the cost, making them a go-to for ecommerce teams focused on trust and conversions rather than pure reach. 
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4. Which platform is best for influencer marketing right now?

No single platform wins for every brand, but TikTok and Instagram are still the top two for ecommerce, with TikTok often leading on ROI for short-form and social commerce, while Instagram remains a core channel for mature creator programs. 
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5. How much should I budget for influencer marketing?

Budgets vary a lot, but most brands cluster in the nano/micro range for regular campaigns, then scale spend once they prove ROAS. Surveys show many organizations are increasing creator budgets year-over-year, with a sizable minority investing $1M+ annually.