Are Retailers Blind to the $32B Influencer Marketing Boom?

German Caution vs. Global Momentum

The latest Bitkom study highlights just how reserved German retailers remain: only 13% work with influencers, and almost 49% haven’t looked into the topic at all. Their reasons are clear: 46% fear reputational damage, while 44% acknowledge the trust-building effect of influencers but are unsure how to convert it into sales.

Globally, the picture is strikingly different. 86% of US brands planned to use influencer marketing in 2024 - proof of its central role in modern marketing strategies, since this number increased by 15 percentage points within only three years.

The global market is expanding at speed. Influencer marketing spend is projected to grow from $24 billion in 2024 to $32.55 billion in 2025. Already, 26% of brands and agencies allocate more than 40% of their marketing budgets to influencer collaborations. Influencer marketing has matured from an experiment into a budget-priority channel competing directly with traditional paid media.

WhWhy Retailers Still Hesitate - and Why They Shouldn’t

Despite the opportunities, hesitation still dominates in Germany. Many retailers doubt whether influencer marketing really pays off, others fear losing control over brand messaging, or worry about fake profiles and negative reactions. According to Bitkom, almost one in two retailers also considers managing social media channels too time-consuming and resource-intensive.

Yet these concerns are less justified than they seem. Most etailers already run their own social media profiles, which provides a strong foundation that can easily be expanded. A practical first step is collaborating with UGC creators, who produce authentic, decentralized, and cost-effective content. With the right tools, the selection, management, and evaluation of campaigns can be structured in a way that minimizes risks and makes opportunities fully visible. The following three steps show exactly how.

Step 1: Finding the Right Influencers (Discovery)

Success starts with the right match. On Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, or Twitch, follower counts don’t equal relevance - audience fit does. With IROIN® Discovery, retailers can filter through over 410 million profiles worldwide, targeting by demographics, region, or interests. This makes it easy to find micro- and nano-influencers whose engagement rates (3-6% on Instagram, 5-10% on TikTok) often outperform larger accounts. Added features like fake follower checks or past collaboration insights further reduce risk.

Instead of navigating blindly, Discovery provides a structured, data-driven process that ensures only relevant creators are considered - saving time and avoiding costly mismatches.

Step 2: Managing Campaigns Effectively (Campaigning)

A common mistake in influencer marketing is launching campaigns without clearly defined goals. Many retailers neither track performance consistently nor compare outcomes against their original expectations. As a result, it often remains unclear whether a collaboration is truly effective. It’s also completely normal that not every profile delivers immediate profit - what matters is systematically monitoring results and learning from them.

This is exactly where the Campaigning module of IROIN® provides the right foundation. Retailers can set goals from the very beginning, structure their campaigns efficiently, and accompany them with clear monitoring. A central dashboard keeps every step transparent, while live tracking shows in real time how reach, engagement, and conversions are developing. Continuous evaluation makes it clear which creators truly perform and where adjustments are needed. In the end, results can be summarized and documented with just a few clicks thanks to the integrated reporting.

Step 3: Reporting That Builds Trust

In the end, proof is what matters: anyone investing in influencer marketing must be able to demonstrate results clearly. Especially skeptical retailers need hard facts to justify budgets and guide strategic decisions. Yet many campaigns are still evaluated only superficially - without clear KPIs and without benchmarking against industry standards.

With IROIN®, key KPIs such as reach, views, engagement rates, clicks, and conversions can be tracked precisely. This makes it transparent which collaborations truly deliver impact. Metrics for awareness can be measured alongside “hard facts” like link clicks and discount code redemptions.

Such transparent comparisons make it clear where a campaign is performing - and where adjustments are needed. Retailers can use this data not only to argue their case internally with management or budget holders but also externally with partners and stakeholders. Reporting is therefore not a tedious afterthought, but a crucial step in building trust and securing future decisions on a data-driven basis.

Conclusion: Time to Act

So, are retailers blind to the $32B influencer marketing boom? In markets like Germany, the numbers suggest yes. While only 13% of retailers there currently work with influencers, global adoption is close to universal - and the ROI is consistently documented. Social commerce is accelerating, and consumers expect authentic content where they spend their time. But there are three decisive steps,  to get a clear vision:

• Targeted selection instead of guesswork: Use data-driven Discovery to identify the right micro- and nano-influencers whose audiences align closely with your target group and whose engagement rates exceed the industry average.
  
  
• Structured campaign management: Define clear goals, plan monitoring from the start, and use live tracking to see which collaborations truly deliver results.
  
  
• Transparent evaluation of results: Track KPIs such as reach, clicks, and conversions with precision, benchmark them, and use the insights to secure budgets and build strategic learnings.

Retailers who continue to hesitate risk missing one of the most profitable shifts in modern marketing. Those who act now can transform influencer marketing from a perceived risk into a proven growth engine. With IROIN® by Stellar Tech, hesitation becomes confidence - and growth becomes measurable.