NeoReach, an influencer marketing platform, has released a report titled “Swipe to Buy 2024: How Creators Shape Online Buying Decisions” that examines the relationship between digital content creators and consumer purchasing behavior. The report is based on a survey of over 1,000 creator fans, predominantly located in the United States.

The Results Are In

The findings reveal that creators wield significant influence, with 90.14% of respondents saying creators have impacted their purchases, experiences, or adoption of new routines. Over half (55.53%) find sponsored content from creators convincing or influential when it comes to buying products.

Breaking It Down by Age and Gender

The survey participant pool reflected creators’ typical younger audience demographics. Over 55% were aged 18-25, with another 15.63% under 18. The majority (75.24%) identified as female, while 22.6% were male, and 2.16% selected other gender identities.

Where They Discover and Buy

Instagram story “swipe-ups” topped the list at 35% for places audiences look to purchase creator-recommended items, followed by Amazon storefronts (33%), creators’ websites (17%), and Linktree pages (15%). Popular purchase categories included clothing, everyday goods, home goods, and creator merchandise.

What Compels Them to Buy

Humor emerged as a critical factor in encouraging purchases from sponsored content, with viewers citing “funny” ads as attention-grabbers. Clothing-focused promos and video ad formats also resonated well. However, a notable portion said they weren’t motivated to buy by any specific ad elements.

What Puts Them Off

On the flip side, “boring” ads were called out as a major turn-off for purchases, along with a general dislike of advertisements and platform-specific put-offs like YouTube pre-roll ads. Many seemed unsure what exactly discourages them from creator-endorsed purchases.

The Magic Number of Ad Views

The report found that the median and mean number of times a viewer needs to see an ad before buying is around four views. Nearly a third (31.91%) said the sweet spot is between 2 and 4 ad exposures before they convert.

More Social Media = More Influence?

While there was no strong correlation, more time spent on social media did correspond with a higher likelihood of creator-influenced purchases and downloads each month (0.408 correlation). The full report is available here.