Fenty Beauty (Rihanna), Haus Laboratories (Lady Gaga), KYLIE (Kylie Jenner) Buyers Show Highest Awareness of Celebrity Affiliation; Consumers Less Likely to Recommend Influencer Brands than Mainstream Brands
CHICAGO, April 30, 2024 (GlobeNewswire) – 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.
