26 Influencer Marketing Statistics to Know in 2026

Influencer marketing statistics show where social commerce is heading. They also highlight the trends and strategies brands use when working with influencers. 

Roughly two in three people worldwide are active on some kind of social media platform. Influencers let you draw on the credibility and trust they’ve built with their audience. 

To determine whether influencer marketing is right for your business, review these influencer marketing statistics on average costs, engagement, and return on investment (ROI). 

What is influencer marketing?

Influencer marketing is a social commerce strategy where brands partner with people who have a large, engaged social media audience. This includes bloggers, celebrities, or experts in their fields. 

Ecommerce brands can give free products to influencers in the hopes they’ll share a review with their followers. Alternatively, brands can pay for sponsored endorsements or collaborate with influencers to create paid ads.

Influencer marketing is valuable: 67% of consumers have made a purchase because of an influencer’s recommendation, per Sprout Social’s 2026 study. That rises to 73% for millennials and 81% for Gen Z. 

The state of influencer marketing in 2026 and beyond

Here’s the current state of the industry, in a few big-picture statistics: 

The global influencer marketing industry is worth $26.5 billion

Influencer marketing is big business. The influencer marketing market is estimated at $26.5 billion in 2026, up from $22.2 billion in 2025. It’s expected to grow to $31.2 billion in 2027.

14% of marketers spend 10% to 15% of their budget on influencer marketing

The influencer marketing industry is booming. Statista found that in 2025, more than 14% of marketers allocated 10% to 15% of their marketing budget to influencers. Almost 12% devoted more than half. 

More B2C brands than B2B businesses work with influencers

HubSpot’s 2026 State of Marketing report found that more business-to-consumer (B2C) brands work with influencers than business-to-business (B2B) brands. Just over 18% of the latter have an influencer marketing strategy, compared to roughly 23% of B2C brands.

59% of marketers use AI in their influencer campaigns

Aspire’s 2026 study found that 59% of marketers use AI to scale how they discover and work with influencers. Half of creators are also leaning in; 49% of influencers use AI tools for content creation. 

Influencer Marketing Hub’s 2026 study had similar findings. Nearly 27% of marketers said that AI-driven creator matching is a top focus area in 2026. 

Types of influencers

Influencers can be broken down into five categories, each based on the follower count of their most popular account:

• Nano-influencers: between 1,000 and 10,000 followers
• Micro-influencers: between 10,000 and 100,000 followers
• Mid-tier influencers: between 100,000 and 500,000 followers
• Macro-influencers: between 500,000 and 1 million followers
• Mega-influencers: more than 1 million followers

Here are three stats on how they compare:

Marketers are most interested in working with nano- and micro-influencers

Influencer Marketing Hub’s 2026 study found brands are investing in influencers with smaller followings more aggressively than macro- or celebrity influencers. For nano-influencers, in particular, 51% said they plan to work with creators in this tier. 

eMarketer’s data corroborates this. It estimated micro- and nano-influencers will claim almost half of all influencer marketing spend in 2026.

Nano-influencers have the highest engagement rate

Data from The Social Cat found that nano-influencers with fewer than 5,000 followers have the highest engagement rates (2.61%). Engagement rates drop as follower counts rise, hitting 0.84% at the mega-influencer level.

Many brands have had successful creator partnerships with smaller influencers, including ramen brand Immi. One creator with just over 10,000 followers is the brand’s top-performing influencer.

Roughly two-thirds of brands still prioritize follower count

Despite engagement rates declining with audience size, Influencer Marketing Hub found that 67.3% of brands still prioritize follower count when evaluating influencers.

“Go to their account and look at the interactions,” says Kevin Chon, co-founder of Coop Sleep Goods, in a Shopify Masters interview. “Are there comments? Are there saves? Are there shares? That’s what counts.”

Demographics most impacted by influencers

The number of people active on social media differs by generation, which means that certain demographics are more attuned to influencer recommendations than others. Here’s how it shakes out statistically:

Gen Z is most influenced by social media influencers

The success of your influencer marketing campaigns depends on your target audience’s makeup. If they’re mostly Generation Z, or people born between 1997 and 2012, you’re in luck: that demographic is most likely to engage with influencer marketing efforts.

Sprout Social’s 2026 data shows 67% of all consumers have purchased through an influencer’s recommendation. This rises to 81% for Gen Z, more than a third of whom find new products through creators every week.

Slightly more men follow influencers than women

Data from Morning Consult found that more men than women follow social media influencers. This trend is consistent on every social media platform except TikTok.

The same report also found differences in the type of social media content they consume: 21% of men say long-form videos are the type of creator content they consume most, compared to just 12% of women. The latter are more likely to watch recipes or “day in the life”-style videos.

Platform-specific influencer marketing statistics

An influencer’s popularity, follower count, and average engagement rate differ from platform to platform, as do the number of social media users who buy products via influencer programs. 

Here are some stats to consider as you go about finding a platform or two to focus on: 

31% of marketers include TikTok in their influencer strategies 

TikTok is the most popular platform for brands to work with influencers in 2026, followed by:

• Instagram (15%)
• Facebook (12%)
• YouTube (11%)
• LinkedIn (9%)
• Pinterest (8%)

Allowing engaging influencers to make suggestions or take creative ownership of the content––and then tracking the results to see what resonates––lets you take advantage of their platform knowledge.

“What works well for us is an up-close image of the influencer holding our product,” says Emily Chong, founder of Healthish, in a Shopify Masters interview.

Half of US adults (50%) use Instagram, rising to 80% of those ages 18 to 29

Despite ranking second in the most-used platform list, Instagram is popular amongst all demographics. In a Pew Research study, half of US adults said they use Instagram. That number rises to 80% for younger generations. 

YouTube and Facebook remain the most popular social media platforms

Pew Research Center found 84% of US adults use YouTube, making it the most-used social media platform in the country. Facebook closely followed, at 71%.

Sean Frank, CEO of Ridge, works with YouTube influencers. Speaking on Shopify Masters about one influencer collaboration with Marques Brownlee, Sean says that 12 million people made it 20 minutes into the video. 

“Those people really care what Marques has to say,” says Sean.” And it’s just a deeper, more personal relationship with the creator.”

YouTube has the highest engagement rate of any social media platform

Aspire’s 2026 report found YouTube trumps every other social media platform for engagement. The average engagement rate is 23.16% on YouTube—much higher than the next-best platform, TikTok, with 4.8%.

Every major social media platform saw engagement rates fall in 2025

Despite YouTube’s impressive engagement rate, RivalIQ’s data shows engagement has dipped across every platform from 2024 to 2025. X took the biggest hit, at 48%. Facebook also dropped 36%, while TikTok declined by 34%.

How much do influencers cost?

Influencer rates range from a few dollars to well beyond $10,000 per post. Shopify’s influencer marketing pricing guide breaks down the marketing spend you should budget for each type of influencer:

Nano-influencers charge between $5 and $1,000 per social media post

Nano-influencers have a smaller follower count (10,000 followers at most), but they also tend to have the highest engagement rates. They also demand the lowest rates per sponsored post. 

Expect to pay:

• $25 to $150 for an Instagram post 
• $200 to $1,000 for a YouTube video 
• $5 to $200 for a TikTok video 
• $2 per 1,000 followers for an X post 

$25 to $250 for a Facebook post 

Micro-influencers charge between $20 and $10,000 per social media post 

With up to 100,000 followers, micro-influencers charge slightly more per sponsored post. As a rough guideline, expect to pay:

• $250 to $5,000 for an Instagram post 
• $1,000 to $10,000 for a YouTube video 
• $200 to $1,200 for a TikTok video 
• $20 to $100 for an X post 
• $250 to $1,250 for a Facebook post 

Mid-tier influencers charge up to $25,000 per social media post 

Influencers with up to half a million followers demand higher fees because they have a wider pool of potential customers for brands to tap into. They typically earn:

• $1,600 to $10,000 for an Instagram post 
• $9,000 to $25,000 for a YouTube video 
• $1,200 to $5,000 for a TikTok video 
• $100 to $1,000 for an X post 

$1,250 to $12,500 for a Facebook post 

Macro-influencers can charge up to $50,000 per sponsored post 

Macro-influencers have between 500,000 and 1 million followers on their largest social media account. Their rates can range between:

• $5,000 to $25,000 for an Instagram post 
• $10,000 to $50,000 for a YouTube video 
• $5,000 to $15,000 for a TikTok video 
• $1,000 to $2,000 for an X post 
• $12,500 to $25,000 for a Facebook post 

Mega-influencers can charge $50,000 and beyond per social media post

Defined as those with more than a million followers, celebrities and mega-influencers earn the most for sponsored content:

• $10,000 to more than $50,000 for an Instagram post 
• $20,000 to more than $50,000 for a YouTube video 
• $7,000 to more than $20,000 for a TikTok video 
• $2,000 or more for an X post 
• $25,000 or more for a Facebook post 

If you decide to go this route, you may have to go through an influencer’s managing team to confirm a sponsorship. Some provide management contact info in their Instagram bios.

The ROI of influencer marketing

Influencer campaigns can work for brands with any budget size, but knowing whether one’s paying off means understanding how quickly to expect payback, how to attribute sales to individual creators, and how your program performs over repeat campaigns. Here are some metrics to consider: 

Payback time

Influencer Marketing Hub’s 2026 report found marketers expect quick payback periods when working with influencers. Some 65.9% expect payback within a month, while almost half (48.4%) expect it within two weeks. 

What works for your company may look different, depending on your industry and the influencers you work with. 

“Remember: influencer marketing is a long game,” says Emily, founder of Healthish. “When an influencer posts about your product, people won’t buy straight away—many will just start following your brand, and others will buy over time through retargeting campaigns, and so on. Each activity compounds, so track everything over time.”

Discount code and affiliate link usage

The same Influencer Marketing Hub report found that promotion and discount codes are the most popular way to report on influencer results, followed by affiliate links. 

Shopify Collabs lets you create these influencer discount codes and attribute sales to each creator. 

“We can simply send influencers a Shopify link which includes a discount code, and they just have to swipe up to access the checkout,” says Ricarda Humitsch, team lead sales at Snocks.

CPE across campaigns

Cost per engagement (CPE)—what you pay per like, comment, share, or save, rather than per impression—is one metric worth watching across campaigns rather than in isolation. Influencer Marketing Hubsuggests comparing CPE and cost per conversion across creators and tiers to see which ones actually deliver.

Influencer marketing challenges

Influencer marketing is changing, and marketers are facing some noteworthy challenges:

Rising creator costs

Combined, more than 40% of marketers cite rising creator costs (35.4) and budget constraints (5.28) as their top challenges, according to Influencer Marketing Hub’s 2026 findings. It beats platform volatility, brand safety or compliance, and limited internal resources. 

Measuring ROI

The same report found measurement remains a top influencer marketing challenge, with a combined 15.84% citing attribution complexity (7.14) and measuring ROI (8.7) as top issues.

Baby and toddler brand Lalo uses Shopify Collabs to solve this challenge. 

“Gifting, measurement, tracking, and of course, rewarding influencers and creators for their promotion has all gotten easier,” says Cofounder, President, and CEO Michael Wieder. “As a result, we’ve seen attributable sales from influencers skyrocket.”

Fake followers

SociaVault analyzed over 100,000 influencer accounts and found that more than 37% show signs of having fake, bought, or otherwise inauthentic followers. It estimates these fake accounts cost brands $4.6 billion each year, which is why 12% of marketers surveyed by Influencer Marketing Hub say fake engagement and authenticity issues are their biggest challenge.

Brands and influencers are both required to disclose sponsored content under FTC guidelines. A clear “#ad” or “Paid partnership” label keeps a campaign compliant. 

Roughly three-quarters of US consumers trust influencer content

Despite influencers’ ability to drive sales, not every customer trusts their recommendations. Only 5% of consumers surveyed by BBB trust influencer content completely. Almost three-quarters trust or somewhat trust content posted by influencers, compared to 87% for general advertising.