82% OF SHOPPERS CANNOT MATCH CELEBRITIES TO THE BRANDS THEY OWN, NUMERATOR REPORTS
30 April 2024 - 2:00PM
Numerator, a data and tech company serving the market research
space, recently published its Influencer & Celebrity Impact on
Shopping Behavior report, which analyzes the purchasing and
attitudinal behaviors among the most popular brands in food,
beverage, or beauty categories that were started by a celebrity or
influencer. Thirty of the most popular influencer/celebrity
owned-brands were selected for this analysis (regardless if it has
subsequently been acquired), with verified buyers of these brands
surveyed to understand their sentiment and awareness of the brand’s
celebrity affiliation. Overall, the analysis found that only 18% of
influencer brand buyers were able to properly identify the
celebrity or influencer who started the brand and fewer recommend
those influencer-started brands compared to the top 10 brands in
the category (75% vs. 81% for beauty brands, 60% vs. 79% for food
& beverage brands).
Key Findings Include:
- Shoppers purchasing celebrity / influencer-launched brands
are younger, have children, and are technology-forward. 44% of
influencer brand purchasers are Gen Z & Millennials, 45% have
children, and 21% are early adopters or innovators of shopping
trends.
- Awareness of affiliation does not always equal
recognition. 32% of influencer brand shoppers knew that a brand
had an affiliation with a public figure, and 1 in 5 shoppers were
able to properly identify the celebrity/influencer associated with
the brand.
- Younger generations have more knowledge of affiliations.
53% of Gen Z purchasers were aware of a brand’s influencer
affiliation, dropping to 47% of Millennials, 34% of Gen X, and 22%
of Boomers+.
- Shoppers connect beauty influencers to brands with more ease
compared to food & beverage brands. The top ten brands with
the highest awareness of the celebrity/influencer attached to the
brand are: Fenty Beauty / Rihanna (59% of buyers), Haus Labs / Lady
Gaga (46%), Kylie / Kylie Jenner (46%), XMONDO / Brad Mondo (43%),
Rare Beauty / Selena Gomez (38%), Flower / Drew Barrymore (36%),
Pattern / Tracee Eliss Ross (35%), 818 Tequila / Kendall Jenner
(34%), Betty Buzz / Blake Lively (27%), and Florence / Millie
Bobby Brown (20%).
- Among the brands analyzed, there were two clear successes
among food & beverage and beauty. In the latest 12 months
ending 1/31/2024, Prime and Feastables saw the highest household
penetration (25.4% and 10.2%, respectively) within food &
beverage. Among beauty, the winners were Fenty Beauty at 5.1% and
Rare Beauty at 4.8%.
- Food & beverage brands go for broad appeal, while beauty
brands stay in their lane. Food & beverage influencer
brands see 28% of their dollar share come from in-store mass
retailers, while beauty influencer brands see 62% of their dollar
share come from specialty beauty stores.
- For beauty influencer brands, being on trend matters the
most. Beauty influencer brand purchasers said, compared to
similar brands, that influencer brands are trendier (51% vs. 29%)
and better for society (31% vs. 20%). In terms of beauty influencer
brands being perceived as more premium, there wasn’t a large
difference compared to similar brands (49% vs. 47%).
- Beauty influencer brands have massive growth potential
– if they can keep their customers. The average beauty
brand sees a 39% year-over-year repeat purchase rate, while
influencer beauty brands are only achieving 24%. However, their
customer lifetime value can be over 2.5x higher for influencer
beauty brands than the average beauty brand when customers are
retained for two or more years (Fenty 3.2x, Huda 2.9x, and Rare
2.6x).
- While most purchasers are satisfied with influencer brands,
they have a lower likelihood of recommendation compared to other
brands. 81% of purchasers will recommend a top 10 beauty brand
to others, but only 75% will recommend an influencer brand. The gap
is even wider for food & beverage—79% of purchasers will
recommend a top 10 brand but only 60% will recommend an influencer
brand.
- The bigger the star, the bigger the reward. Influencer
brands associated with an A-list actor or musician were 43% more
likely to receive positive sentiments from purchasers compared to
brands promoted by social media influencers or reality stars. Among
those analyzed, the brands that had the most positively viewed
public figures associated with them were Flower Beauty (Drew
Barrymore, 81%), Rare Beauty (Selena Gomez, 76%), and Once Upon a
Farm (Jennifer Garner, 74%).
Methodology:
For this analysis, 30 influencer brands were selected as brands
of focus. Brands met the following criteria to be included: the
brand originated with a celebrity or influencer; the brand is sold
in retail stores (either in-store, online or third-party
marketplace sellers such as Amazon or Walmart); the brand must be
part of one of three categories: food, beverages or beauty; and the
celebrity & influencer must have a stake within the brand and
are part of the overall branding or story of the brand. Note that
this list is not all inclusive of all influencer and celebrity
brands in the marketplace and figures should be used as guidance
over evaluating absolute performance.
Surveys were conducted in March 2024 and purchase panel data
analyzes the latest 12 months ending 1/31/2024 unless otherwise
noted.
About Numerator:
Numerator is a data and tech company bringing speed and scale to
market research. Numerator blends first-party data from over
1 million US households with advanced technology to provide
360-degree consumer understanding for the market research industry
that has been slow to change. Headquartered in Chicago, IL,
Numerator has 2,000 employees worldwide; 80 of the top 100 CPG
brands’ manufacturers are Numerator clients.
Bob Richter
Numerator
212-802-8588
press@numerator.com