• The Wrap Up
  • Posts
  • Influencer Rates Spike, Budgets Shift To Creators

Influencer Rates Spike, Budgets Shift To Creators

Plus: Why last click undervalues channel revenue by over 90%?

Author

Avinash Duggempudi
September 17, 2025 • Estimated Reading Time: 6 minutes

The Wrap Up

Here's what's happening this week in the world of gifting commerce:
- Creator fees surge; measurement becomes the bottleneck.
- Amazon’s October event pulls holiday demand forward.
- Beauty packaging pivots to paper and renewables.
- Luxury auto-fragrance collab hints at giftable lifestyle.
- Advent calendars selling early; scarcity drives urgency.

⏱️Why Last Click Undervalues Channel Revenue By Over 90%?

The majority of channels are undervalued by over 90% by Last Click. Add marketplace sales into the mix, and brands see a 37% ROAS uplift, yet most tools still ignore it.

See why the future of growth depends on full-funnel, unified measurement across DTC + marketplaces.

Watch Dom Devlin explain this at #etailboston

📌WEEKLY MUST-KNOWS

Creator rates have jumped roughly 30% in six months after Unilever pledged to shift half its ad budget to influencers, with U.S. sponsored content spend projected at $10.52B this year. The spike is intensifying competition for talent and putting pressure on ROI proof, with measurement cited as the main brake on further budget growth. Enterprise spend is driving the surge; smaller and emerging brands must adapt with micro creators, performance-based deals, and better attribution to protect CAC.

Amazon confirmed Prime Big Deal Days for Oct. 7–8, a 48-hour fall event that effectively kicks off holiday shopping. Expect demand pull-forward, aggressive device and electronics pricing, and heightened paid media auction pressure. Brands selling giftable items should lock inventory, promo calendars, and channel budgets now to capitalize on early intent.

Beauty ODM Kolmar Korea detailed paper tubes, mineral paper sticks, and a one-hand pump paper pack, alongside RE100 commitments and low-carbon extraction methods. The supplier claims up to 86% plastic reduction and recyclable formats built for separation, signaling faster movement toward clean packaging at scale. This resets packaging roadmaps for beauty and personal care brands seeking compliant, premium giftable formats with real ESG proof points.

Alo launched six Italian-made handbags, including duffles and roomy totes designed for studio-to-street and travel, priced from about $2,300 to $3,600 and available in limited quantities in select stores. The move signals athleisure’s premiumization into luggage-adjacent accessories with scarcity-led merchandising. Implication: higher-margin travel pieces and influencer-driven campaigns push Alo into the luxury tripwear lane and challenge legacy players.

Meet Fospha at Shoptalk Fall 2025

Fospha is heading to Chicago for Shoptalk Fall. From GenAI reshaping search to marketplace measurement and scaling creative, their team is ready to explore the topics defining retail growth with industry peers.

⚡QUICK READS

Maserati X Acqua Di Parma Launch New Collection: Maserati teams with Acqua di Parma on a luxury scent line, signaling auto-luxury brands expanding into giftable lifestyle SKUs ahead of holiday.(More)

Sustainable Flexible Packaging Market Size And Growth: A new forecast calls steady growth for sustainable flexible packaging through 2034, with North America leading adoption, pressuring CPG design and recycling strategies.(More)

The Best Advent Calendars Of 2025 Are Selling Fast: Anthropologie, Charlotte Tilbury And More: Beauty and candle Advent calendars are dropping early and moving quickly, reinforcing the case to launch limited-run holiday SKUs and allocate paid early.(More)

ClickZ is a ClickZ Media publication in the DTC eCommerce division