Holiday creator spend is changing shape. In Modern Retail’s latest survey, the share of marketers planning influencer hauls and unboxing videos fell year over year. Meanwhile, creator fees keep climbing. So where is the money going? This look at holiday season creator spend patterns covers what brands are prioritizing for Q4, and what to do before your budget locks.
The haul is losing its grip
The headline finding deserves a slow read. According to Modern Retail’s survey of 90 brand and retailer professionals, usage of influencer hauls and unboxing videos fell by 14 percentage points this year versus last. Gift guides dropped 19 points. Hauls were also the only tactic that fell on both intended use and historical best performance.
Does that mean brands are abandoning creators? Not exactly. It means they are abandoning one format, the one that looks most like an ad and is hardest to tie to a sale.
Meanwhile, the same survey shows where attention is moving. Forty-five percent of respondents plan to use CTV and streaming ads this holiday, compared with 23% last year. Brand experiences, last year’s most-used tactic, fell to second place behind streaming and CTV ads. Creator budgets are now competing with channels that arrive with cleaner reporting.
Creator spend is not shrinking so much as being cross-examined. Every holiday dollar now has to beat streaming, TV, and retail media on proof.
Why the money lands late
Last season, Digiday reported that creators were seeing deals struck less than 30 days before a campaign went live, compared with the traditional 30 to 60 days. Brands that front-loaded budgets early in the year were topping up at the last minute amid economic uncertainty.
That pattern is rational for a finance team. It is expensive for everyone else. In the same piece, one agency executive noted that influencer media kit fees were ballooning by 20 to 30% in Q4, right as paid media CPMs rise too.
Put those together and the late-deal strategy has a hidden cost. You buy the most contested inventory of the year, at peak rates, with the least time for briefing, usage rights review, and disclosure checks. Sound familiar?
What brands are actually prioritizing
Across the reporting and the planning conversations I see, five priorities keep surfacing.
- Audience fit over follower count. Before committing, teams are checking whether a creator’s audience matches the gift buyer, not the creator’s fan base. Our piece on audience alignment data covers the checks worth running first.
- Standing rosters. Brands that already have contracts, rate cards, and briefs in place can move fast without paying panic premiums. That is the logic behind creator rosters replacing one-off bursts.
- Measurable formats. Affiliate links, shoppable posts, and creator-led paid amplification beat a standalone haul when the CFO asks what the spend returned.
- Value messaging. Shoppers are hunting deals. Deloitte data cited by Marketing Dive found that 95% of Gen Z shoppers were seeking deals last season.
- Search-ready content. Creator content now feeds discovery well beyond the feed, which changes how you brief.
Gen Z still discovers through creators, but on tighter wallets
Last season’s Deloitte survey, as reported by Marketing Dive, projected that Gen Z would pull back holiday spending by 34%. The same article reported that sixty-one percent of Gen Z consumers don’t mind seeing sponsored ads for relevant brands, up from 50% in 2024, per Bain & Company data.
Read those two numbers together. This audience is receptive but selective. Relevance is the price of admission, and discounts are the closer. Creator content that explains why this gift, at this price will outperform a glossy unboxing.
These are last season’s figures, so treat them as a directional baseline rather than a 2026 forecast. Rerun your own audience data before locking targets.
Rebrief for search and for the checkout path
If gift guides are gaining importance in AI-driven search, as a Ritual executive suggested in the Modern Retail report, then creator briefs need new fields. Ask for spoken product names, clear category language, and captions that answer buyer questions. Our guide on how to rebrief creators for queries walks through it.
Then check the funnel itself. Link-in-bio paths are changing, and a broken handoff in November costs more than a weak caption. See what to rebuild after TikTok’s bio link change before your first post goes live.
A practical Q4 budget framework
Here is the split I would pressure-test with any team, adjusted to your category and margin.
- Reserved base. Fund your roster early, with usage rights and exclusivity terms signed before October. This is where you sidestep peak-season fee inflation.
- Flex pool. Hold a portion back for creators who are performing mid-flight. Late deals are fine when they are a choice and not a scramble.
- Amplification. Reserve budget to put paid support behind the top performers. Organic reach alone rarely carries a holiday sales target.
- Measurement. Fund tracking before content. Define success with finance up front, using a shared funnel benchmark language so results survive scrutiny in January.
One caution on the flex pool. It only works if approvals are fast. If legal review takes two weeks, your late creator misses the window anyway.
FAQs
Are brands cutting creator budgets for the holidays?
The evidence points to reallocation, not retreat. Modern Retail’s survey shows brands moving toward CTV and TV while using fewer hauls and gift guides. Creator spend is being pushed to justify itself against channels with firmer measurement.
When should brands lock Q4 creator deals?
Earlier than the market does. Creators reported deals closing less than 30 days before launch last season, which pushes you into peak pricing. Signing core roster terms before October protects your rates and your review time.
Which creator formats are safest for holiday ROI?
Formats with a trackable path to purchase, such as affiliate and shoppable content, are easier to defend. Hauls and unboxings are the format marketers in Modern Retail’s survey are pulling back on most among creator tactics.
How should I brief creators differently for Q4?
Lead with value and relevance, since shoppers are deal-focused. Add search-friendly language, clear product naming, and a tested destination path. Include disclosure requirements in the brief itself.
How much should I plan for Q4 fee increases?
One agency executive quoted by Digiday said influencer media kit fees were ballooning by 20, 30% in Q4. Treat that as a planning range, not a rule, and negotiate early to avoid it.
Do these figures apply to my market?
Mostly US-based retail and brand samples, so validate against your own category data. The Modern Retail survey covered 90 professionals, which is directional rather than definitive.
Next step: this week, audit your holiday creator plan for any spend that is a haul with no tracked path to purchase, then convert it to a measurable format or move the budget to your reserved roster.
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