65 Influencer Marketing Statistics You Need to Know in 2026

General Social Media Stats

The foundation of influencer marketing is social media itself. Here's how big the landscape is in 2025-2026.

• There are 5.66 billion social media user identities globally as of October 2025, representing more than two-thirds of Earth's population. (DataReportal, 2025)

• Social media platforms gained 259 million new user identities in the past year, equating to annualized growth of 4.87%. (DataReportal, 2025)

• Users actively engage with an average of 6.75 different social platforms each month. (DataReportal, 2025)

• The global average daily social media usage is 2 hours and 21 minutes (141 minutes per day). (Statista, 2025)

• Collectively, humanity spends 15 billion hours per day on social media. (DataReportal, 2025)

• Among U.S. adults, 84% use YouTube, 71% use Facebook, 50% use Instagram, 37% use TikTok. (Pew Research Center, 2025)

• Facebook leads with 3.22 billion monthly active users, followed by YouTube (2.85B), Instagram (2.2B), and TikTok (1.7B). (Statista / DataReportal, 2025)

• Instagram usage among U.S. adults rose 40% from 2021 to 2025, while TikTok grew 21%. (Pew Research Center, 2025)

• Mobile devices account for approximately 98% of social media access globally. (Broadband Search, 2025)

• 95% of Gen Z in the U.S. actively use social media, with 83% logging into TikTok daily. (SociallyIn, 2025)

• Among U.S. adults aged 18-29, 80% use Instagram compared with just 19% of those 65+. (Pew Research Center, 2025)

• 94.6% of internet users worldwide watch online videos monthly. (Statista, Q2 2025)

• Two out of three consumers (66%) say short-form video is the most engaging content type on social media. (Sprout Social / HubSpot, 2025)

• TikTok users spend an average of 98 minutes per day on the platform. (DataReportal, 2025)

Social Commerce Stats

Social media isn't just where people discover products — it's increasingly where they buy them.

• The global social commerce market is valued at $1.63 trillion in 2025 and is projected to reach $7.55 trillion by 2031. (Mordor Intelligence, 2025)

• U.S. social commerce sales will surpass $100 billion for the first time in 2026, representing 7.2% of all U.S. e-commerce. (eMarketer, 2025-2026)

• TikTok Shop's global GMV reached $66 billion in 2025, doubling from $33.2 billion in 2024. (eMarketer, 2025)

• Over 51% of U.S. social buyers shop on TikTok. (eMarketer, 2025-2026)

• Social commerce is growing three times as fast as traditional e-commerce globally. (Accenture, 2025)

• China accounts for 50% of the global social commerce market. (Mordor Intelligence, 2024-2025)

• Livestream commerce in China is expected to reach $843.9 billion in 2025. (eMarketer, 2025)

• U.S. livestream e-commerce sales grew nearly 50% in 2025 to $14.64 billion. Livestream conversion rates reach up to 30%. (eMarketer / GetStream, 2025)

• There are 114.3 million social media buyers in the United States. (eMarketer, 2025)

• More than half of Gen Z (53%) and Millennials (56%) have purchased via a social media platform in 2025. (Capital One Shopping Research, 2025)

• 58% of social media shoppers purchase beauty products directly through social platforms. (Amra and Elma, 2025)

• Instagram Shopping generated an estimated $37.2 billion in sales. (Capital One Shopping Research / Statista, 2024-2025)

• Southeast Asia's social commerce market reached $146.35 billion. (Statista, 2025)

• The average U.S. social commerce buyer spends approximately $628 per year. (Statista / SellersCommerce, 2025)

Influencer Marketing Industry Stats

The market size, growth trajectory, and structural shifts that define the industry today.

• The global influencer marketing industry reached an estimated $32.55 billion in 2025. (Influencer Marketing Hub, 2025)

• Statista independently estimates the market at approximately $33 billion worldwide in 2025. (Statista, 2025)

• The influencer marketing industry grew 35.6% year-over-year between 2024 and 2025. (Influencer Marketing Hub, 2025)

• The market is expected to exceed $40 billion globally by 2026. (DemandSage / SociallyIn, 2026)

• The broader creator economy is approximately $250 billion in 2025, projected to nearly double to $480 billion by 2027. (Goldman Sachs, 2025)

• Approximately 67 million individuals worldwide identify as creators in 2025. Only about 4% earn more than $100K/year. (Goldman Sachs, 2025)

• There are approximately 127 million social media influencers worldwide, with over 64 million on Instagram alone. (Storybox, 2025)

• Instagram remains the most utilized platform for influencer marketing (57.1% of brands), followed by TikTok (51.6%). (Influencer Marketing Hub, 2025)

• The influencer marketing platform/software market was valued at $23.59 billion in 2025. (Fortune Business Insights, 2025)

• 63% of marketing agencies and brands planned to use AI/ML for influencer marketing in 2025. (Statista / Influencer Marketing Hub, 2025)

• 39% of brands chose nano-influencers (1K-10K followers) as their most likely partners in 2025. (Influencer Marketing Hub / Social Cat, 2025)

• North America holds approximately 35% of the global influencer marketing market. (Mordor Intelligence, 2025)

• Brand deals account for approximately 70% of creator revenue. (Goldman Sachs, 2025)

• Average influencer marketing CPM dropped 53% year-over-year in 2025. (Influencer Marketing Hub, 2025)

Brand-Influencer Partnership Stats

How brands are investing, what returns they're seeing, and how partnerships are structured.

• 80% of brands maintained or increased influencer marketing budgets in 2025, with 47% raising budgets by 11% or more. (Influencer Marketing Hub, 2025)

• 74% of marketers plan to increase their influencer marketing budgets in 2026. (Aspire, 2026)

• 62% of enterprise marketers are increasing influencer budgets in 2026, with 33% planning to spend more than $5M. (Linqia, 2026)

• Brands earn an average of $5.20 for every $1 spent on influencer marketing. (Influencer Marketing Hub, 2025)

• The top 13% of influencer campaigns generate $20 or more per $1 invested. (Influencer Marketing Hub, 2025)

• 9 in 10 marketers say sponsored influencer content outperforms brand content in engagement. (Sprout Social, 2025)

• Marketers who don't use an always-on influencer approach are 17x more likely to report their program is ineffective. (Aspire, 2025)

• 100% of enterprise marketers repurpose influencer content beyond the creator's channels. 81% say it outperforms brand-created assets. (Linqia, 2025/2026)

• 63.2% of brands prefer sustained influencer collaborations over one-time engagements. (Influencer Marketing Hub, 2025)

• 71% of influencers offer discounts for longer-term brand partnerships. (Influencer Marketing Hub, 2025)

• Only 9% of creators are very willing to join commission-only campaigns; 41% would avoid them entirely. (Modash / impact.com, 2025)

• 59% of marketers plan to partner with more influencers in 2025 vs. 2024. (Sprout Social, 2025)

• 93% of marketers say UGC outperformed traditional branded content. (inBeat Agency, 2025)

• 73% of brands prefer micro and mid-tier creators over celebrity partnerships. (Influencer Marketing Hub, 2025)

Influencer-Audience Relationship Stats

The trust dynamics, purchase behaviors, and authenticity expectations that make influencer marketing work.

• 77% of consumers prefer content created by social media influencers over scripted advertising. (IZEA, 2025)

• 85% of social media users trust sponsored posts from influencers more than celebrity endorsements. (IZEA, 2025)

• Only 74% of consumers trust or somewhat trust influencer content, compared to 87% who trust general advertising. (BBB/NAD, 2025)

• 86% of consumers make a purchase inspired by an influencer at least once per year. (Sprout Social, 2025)

• The content qualities that most often lead to purchases are genuine reviews (64%), discount codes (55%), and multiple influencers posting about the same product (26%). (Sprout Social, 2025)

• On TikTok, nano-influencers average a 10.3% engagement rate vs. 7.1% for mega-influencers. (Sprout Social, 2025)

• Trust in influencers declined 5 percentage points between 2023 and 2024 among Gen Z and millennials. (Morning Consult, 2025)

• 52% of Gen Z trust influencers they follow for brand advice, compared to 82% who trust friends and family. (Morning Consult, 2025)

• 79% of consumers want authentic reviews from influencers, even if negative. 80% lose trust when influencers are not genuine. (BBB/NAD, 2025)

Want to learn more about how to leverage these trends for your brand? Reach out to us and we'll show you how InfluenceKit can help you track, measure, and report on your influencer marketing campaigns.