How much of a hold do influencers have over online shoppers?

Being an “influencer” has become a lucrative career in recent years and a small proportion of people are now making a living from content creation and influencing people to buy products.

Similar to TV ads, it’s perhaps easy to be persuaded to buy something when someone is telling you how amazing it is or offering you a discount code.

How much influence do influencers have?

More than half (nearly 59%) of consumers claim to have made a purchase in the last month that has been inspired by an influencer, according to new data from ecommerce platform, Power Retail.

Power Retail also found that roughly 42% of online shoppers follow one or more shopping influencers, with 10% following a whopping 11 or more influencers.

Out of all the social media platforms, 62% of respondents said they use Instagram to follow influencers, making it the most widely used platform for this.

When comparing the effect of influencers on shoppers, 35% of respondents indicated that a social media post from an influencer would increase their likelihood of making a purchase. This was higher than the reported influence of organic posts by a brand or retailer (32%).

Online shopping activity really escalated during the recent pandemic and it has remained at a heightened level since. Many companies and influencers took the opportunity to boost their brands and social media profiles. It clearly worked, with 50% of people saying they now follow more influencers than before the pandemic started.

How else do influencers encourage consumers to buy products?

As well as posting content around the products they’re advertising, influencers also alert consumers of online bargains and advertise discount codes.

Power Retail found that about 61% of respondents have a desire for influencers to find them online bargains.

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