As the festive season kicks in, e-commerce platforms are doubling down on influencer marketing, engaging influencers as key drivers of online retail growth, and in turn, growing their online sales.
E-commerce companies can establish their brand’s image and tap into pre-existing trust by leveraging the influencer’s authenticity, and reach to connect with Gen Z and millennial shoppers.
E-commerce majors like Amazon and Flipkart are tapping into influencers during the festive period.
“With over 8,000 creators on-boarded in the past four months, audience engagement is happening via reels, livestreams, and polls, on platforms like Instagram and YouTube.”
“Micro and nano influencers, who make up 98 per cent of our base, play a crucial role given their highly engaging and diverse following. We are witnessing a trend where social media is becoming the starting point of the purchase journey for many consumers, especially Gen Z,” said Harsh Chaudhary, Vice President, Growth, at Flipkart.
Shopping sessions
Influencers are leveraging live shopping sessions on platforms like Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube to showcase products in real-time, offering their followers an interactive and engaging shopping experience, noted Himanshu Arora, Co-Founder, Social Panga.
“If you’re looking to boost brand awareness or drive your funnel, influencer marketing can be a powerful strategy,” he said.
Amazon has tweaked its commission rates for influencers on the platform, with revised payouts offering a significant boost of 1.5x to 2x across key product categories. Categories such as fashion, beauty, personal care, home, kitchen, toys, and books will see increased earnings for influencers, just in time for the upcoming Amazon Great Indian Festival.
Earnings boost
The new structure aims to help creators maximise their earnings as consumer demand surges during the holiday shopping period.
“Amazon’s commitment to creators was already established, but we’re only doubling down.”
“Today we have over 50,000 influencers as part of the Amazon Influencer Program; all of these influencers, starting right now, can earn commissions that are 1.5x to 2x the actual commissions they earn usually,” said Zahid Khan, Director of Shopping Initiatives for India and Emerging Markets, Amazon.
Influencer marketing is expected to grow by 25 per cent in 2024, reaching ₹2,344 crore and rising to ₹3,375 crore by 2026, as per an EY report on the state of influencer marketing in India.
Rise in spends
Roughly 40 per cent to 57 per cent of brands in categories such as FMCG and automobile are expected to increase spending on influencer marketing by 10 per cent by 2026.
About 12 per cent of the roughly 930,000 content creators (or 112,000 creators) in India earn between ₹1 lakh and ₹10 lakh a month now, the report added.