The influencer advertising industry has snowballed over the past years, growing by a whopping 480% since 2017 and reaching over $35 billion in revenue this year. This impressive three-digit growth has turned influencer ads into the fastest-growing type of digital advertising, and that won`t change in the future.
According to data presented by OnlyAccounts.io, global spending on influencer ads is expected to increase by nearly 50% in the next four years, twice more than on video ads and more than the growth in any other segment of the digital advertising landscape.
Video Ads Top in Total Spending, but Influencer Ads are Growing Twice Faster
According to a 2023 Trustpilot survey, two-thirds of consumers in the United States and the United Kingdom described their level of trust in celebrity influencers as low. But despite that, total spending on influencer ads continues growing, a trend unlikely to change in the future.
According to Statista Market Insights survey, brands and marketers worldwide will spend over $35 billion on influencer ads in 2024, 9% more than last year. Although this represents only 4% of the total spending in the digital advertising industry, influencer ads are growing much faster than any other market segment.
Statista expects total spending on influencer ads to grow by 49% and hit over $52 billion by 2028, growing by an average of $4 billion per year. This double-digit increase is even more impressive when compared to other, much larger segments of the digital advertising landscape.
For instance, the total spending on search ads, the largest and the highest-grossing type of digital ads, will grow by 36% in this period, rising from $306.7 billion to over $417 billion. Video ads will see even smaller four-year growth, rising by 26% to almost $242 billion by 2028. Banner and audio ads follow with 25% and 19% growth rates in this period, respectively.
Chinese and US Brands are Fueling the Market Growth
While brands and companies worldwide promote through influencer ads, most of the ad spending comes from only two countries. Statistics show brands and marketers from the United States and China will generate $24.7 billion or 70% of total influencer ad spending in 2024.
The US and the Chinese dominance in this industry will continue in the following years. According to Statista, China, the world's largest influencer advertising market, will hit close to $29 billion in total ad spending by 2028, or 51% more than this year.
The US market will see just as impressive 44% growth, with the total ad spending rising to $8.1 billion in this period. Statistics show the two countries will generate $37 billion, or 71% of the global influencer ad spending by 2028.
As the demand for Influencer marketing continues to increase, 77% of marketers are treating the sector as a top priority (Economic Times, 2023).
