Retail Media Is Now the No. 2 Channel for Creator Deals as U.S. Influencer Spend Heads to $13.7B
Digiday+'s 2026 creator marketing research — surveying 125 brand and agency executives including Duolingo, Ulta, and YouTube — finds 96% of marketers now use creator content for social media, while 17% have expanded creator partnerships into retail media, making it the second most common deal channel behind social. U.S. brands are projected to spend $13.7 billion on influencer marketing by 2027 per eMarketer, with growth fueled by creator content migrating from social feeds into retail media networks, CTV, and display advertising. YouTube released a Gemini-powered Creator Partnerships suite in March 2026 to streamline brand-creator matching and automate parts of campaign management; TikTok debuted Pulse Mentions and Pulse Tastemaker at its March 2026 NewFronts to embed branded content adjacent to creator posts. In May 2026, TikTok also launched TikTok Go, a feature letting users book travel and activities directly through creator content, turning influencer posts into live commerce transactions. Brand managers at major retailers like Ulta are now integrating creator content directly into loyalty program and retail targeting data workflows.
THE BREAKDOWN
The 17% retail media figure is the number to flag to clients — brands are no longer deploying creator deals purely for top-of-funnel social awareness, but to close the loop with purchase attribution data at the retail shelf. Agents should be structuring deals that include performance tiers tied to retail media conversion metrics, not just impressions or engagement rate. YouTube's Gemini matching suite and TikTok's Pulse products mean both platforms are actively inserting themselves as middlemen in brand-creator matchmaking, which will commoditize inbound deal flow unless agents are packaging exclusive, data-backed talent proposals proactively. The $13.7 billion forecast signals budget isn't the constraint — the premium will flow to talent who can produce documented retail conversion outcomes, not just follower counts. Clients without a measurable commerce track record should be running at least one conversion-tracked campaign before the next deal cycle begins.
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