Key takeaways:

• 49% of consumers make regular purchases based on recommendations from influencers
• 2 in 3 (66%) Millennials and Gen Zers and more than 1 in 4 (27%) Gen Xers and Baby Boomers follow influencers
• The influencer marketing industry has doubled since 2021 to $21.1 billion
• Nearly half of consumers (47%) care about the authenticity of an influencer
• Up to 69% of consumers trust influencer recommendations

You open social media and scroll through your feed. You stop at someone cooking a delicious-looking dinner using a ceramic Dutch oven that you didn't know you needed, but now you want. You click the link and add to cart: Just like that, you’ve been influenced.

When it comes to what consumers will buy, the proof may be in the influencer recommendation. The way people shop is evolving: More than 4 in 5 (81%) consumers say that social media posts from influencers, friends, or family members has piqued their interest in an item or service,¹ and nearly half (49%) of consumers say they make daily, weekly, or monthly purchases because of influencer posts.²

Empower research shows the average American spends nearly two and a half hours a day "Dreamscrolling,” with more than half (56%) leaving windows open or saving dream purchases in shopping carts. Influencers, it seems, are getting many consumers to take the next step and complete those purchases. The influencer marketing industry is growing at breakneck speed to $21.1 billion in 2023, more than doubling from $10.29 billion in 2021 — and 36% of brands say influencer content outperforms branded content.³ Consider cosmetics brand Charlotte Tilbury: $412 million of its $586 million global impact in the first half of 2024 was generated by influencers.⁴

Look who's shopping

Influencer marketing — specifically, social media users who actively monetize their content creation or services — so far is a heavily female-dominated industry: 70% of influencers are women,⁵ and women lead deal flow with 85% of sponsorships.⁶

Who are they marketing to? Younger women seem to be the largest cohort turning to influencers to inform their buying decisions. Half of Gen Z women (50%), and 41% of Millennial and younger Gen X women who are social media users have purchased something based on the recommendation of an influencer or content creator.⁷ Men are less likely to act on purchasing advice from influencers, with 28% of Gen Zers and 24% of Millennials and younger Gen Xers buying based on a social media post.⁸ 

Keeping it real

Consumers aren't swayed by just anyone, though. Relatability may be a big factor in determining how well an influencer can in fact influence. More than half (53%) of consumers look for qualities like whether an influencer aligns with their personal values, and almost as many (47%) care about authenticity, even when it comes to posting sponsored content.¹⁰

The ability to connect with consumers may be helping these not-quite famous personalities earn cachet — and shifting some of the power away from celebrity-endorsed or owned brands, especially among younger generations. Today, 66% of Millennials and Gen Zers, and 27% of Gen Xers and Baby Boomers, follow influencers, and just 25% of consumers follow famous people.¹¹

Even so, men may still be persuaded by celebrities more than by peer influencers: About 55% of men would buy a product because they admire a celebrity endorser, compared to 45% of women, and close to 64% of men could be convinced by a celebrity to make an expensive purchase, versus just 36% of women.¹²

“Friends” you can trust

The notion that influencers are “one of us” may go a long way toward inspiring trust too. Up to 69% of consumers overall say they trust influencer recommendations,¹³ and 30% say they trust them more today than just six months ago.¹⁴

The perception that influencers are peers — yet at the same time they can project a celebrity-like lifestyle — may add to their appeal as trustworthy and accessible: Last year, about one third of overall shoppers and nearly half of Gen Zers (48%) said they’d do their holiday shopping on social media platforms like Instagram and TikTok.¹⁵

An interactive experience

These sentiments may be further bolstered by the interactive nature of this type of shopping experience. It's not uncommon for people on social media to message an influencer about their recommendations, and many consumers will also connect with influencers after making purchases: 62% of frequent buyers, 41% of Gen Z consumers, and 29% of overall consumers share product feedback with influencers.¹⁶

Another thing to 👍

Recommendations are moving beyond products and services, too. With nearly 80% of consumers finding traveling inspiration through social media,¹⁷ influencers and content creators are morphing into a new version of travel agents. Given 47% of Americans are planning to spend more on travel this year compared to 2023, that’s something influencers can like.