2025 trend: Creator commerce will reshape retail, both on and off social media

Retailers are forging closer relationships with creators. Retail media networks (RMNs) have partnered with creator networks and social platforms to satisfy advertiser demands for incrementality and stay relevant as shopping becomes more social.

• Walmart convened a Creator Upfront in October. Creators from various industries presented their content and strategies to a group of advertisers.
• Amazon has taken minority stake in Spotter. The latter is a company that supports creator businesses through capital, community, and AI tools.
• Amazon has joined forces with Meta, TikTok, Snap, and Pinterest. These ad alliances represent a convergence of the social, creator, and retail media spaces.

Creator companies have also deepened relationships with social and retail platforms. Creator content was more effective than all other content types at driving sales from social media, per our March 2024 “US Social Commerce” survey. In November, creator shopping platform LTK integrated with TikTok, allowing users to shop looks from LTK creators on the app like they do on Instagram. The company also has direct relationships with retailers, like Target.

Creator entrepreneurs are also disrupting the retail landscape. The Amazon-Spotter deal signals that retailers recognize the power of creators in driving sales, sometimes at the expense of traditional brands. It could also help accelerate the development of more creator businesses in 2025. Close to three-quarters (71%) of US consumers had purchased a creator-founded product, per June 2024 Billion Dollar Boy data.

Predictions

• TikTok affiliate marketing will struggle. TikTok is shifting its focus back to live shopping as brands grapple with reports of high rates of returns, consumer fatigue, and the threat of a TikTok ban.
• LTK will be a force to be reckoned with. Its technology has quietly underpinned social shopping behavior for years and will form an even bigger part of the commerce landscape in 2025.
• More brands will partner with creators to launch products. Alex Cooper and Nestlé’s recent collaboration on the “Unwell Hydration” drink will open the door to more co-branded launches.

Read the full report, Creator Economy Trends to Watch in 2025.