Brands that skimp on social media marketing do so at their own peril

"About a quarter of revenue on US retail sites during the holiday season was driven by either clicks from social media posts or affiliate marketing links via influencers, publishers, or other partners, according to an Adobe analysis of online consumer transactions. Despite its growth, influencer marketing remains behind more mature categories, such as search and digital video, in annual US ad spend."

"Affiliates and partners, a marketing category where brands pay influencers, publishers, and other promoters a commission for linking to products, contributed around 20% of roughly $258 billion in revenue on US retail sites during the holiday season. That mode of marketing grew by around 16% as a share of revenue during the 2025 holiday period compared to the same period a year ago. Excluding influencer posts, social media marketing in November and December grew about 40% from the previous year, a "standout" in Adobe's report."

"The category drove around 5% of the US retail-site revenue. To reach its tally, Adobe counted user clicks from non-affiliate social posts that led to a purchase on a retailer's site. Adobe's analysis centered on US retail-site sales and didn't include purchases happening directly on social apps like TikTok Shop, which told Business Insider it helped merchants pull in over $500 million in US sales during the 4-day window between Black Friday and Cyber Monday."

Social media posts and affiliate links together generated about one quarter of online holiday revenue for US retail sites, with affiliates and partner commissions accounting for roughly 20% of approximately $258 billion. Affiliate-driven revenue increased about 16% year-over-year for the 2025 holiday period, while non-affiliate social-driven clicks rose roughly 40% and represented about 5% of retail-site revenue in November and December. The measurement counted user clicks from non-affiliate social posts that led to purchases and focused on sales on retailers’ own sites, excluding purchases occurring directly within social commerce platforms like TikTok Shop.

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