Survey: Majority of social media purchases fueled by online influencers
Social influencers are continuing to play a key role in what consumers purchase through social media.
Two-thirds (67%) of weekly social media users have purchased a product after seeing it on social media, according to a new survey of U.S. consumers from LendingTree, Among those shoppers, nearly 60% say an influencer prompted their purchase, with clothing (26%), beauty (18%) and tech (15%) being the most common impulse-buy categories for social media purchases.
LendingTree’s survey found that 30% of social media shoppers say they’ve spent $500 or more on social-influenced purchases in the past year, led generationally by millennials. Higher earners are the most likely to spend at that level, with nearly half (48%) of six-figure earners reporting $500 or more in social-influenced spending.
Meanwhile, more than a quarter (29%) of social media users say they’ve cut back on social media to save money, including half of Gen Z respondents.
Other findings from the study are below.
•More than four-in-10 (43%) social media users say they’ve “at least sometimes” felt pressure to keep up with trends they see online, and nearly half (49%) say it sometimes influences what they consider “necessary” to buy.
•Nearly half (48%) of those surveyed reported that social media increases their desire to buy new or trending products, while a strong majority (78%) believe it’s “fueling consumerism.”
[READ MORE: Survey: Instant or fast refunds spur repeat ordering]
•More than a quarter (27%) of social media users say they’ve used buy now, pay later tools to purchase something on social media.
•Almost six-in-10 (57%) social media shoppers say they at least sometimes regret their purchases.
“Keeping up with trends online can feel harmless, but it can get expensive quickly,” said Matt Schulz, chief consumer financial analyst at LendingTree. “When you’re constantly seeing new clothes, gadgets or beauty products, it’s easy to feel like you’re falling behind if you don’t buy in. For some people, that pressure leads to spending money they don’t really have, which can mean carrying balances and stressing about debt later.”
LendingTree commissioned QuestionPro to conduct an online survey of 2,050 U.S. consumers ages 18 to 79 from Dec. 10-16, 2025. The full survey can be found here.
