Influencer marketing in numbers: what the data says about budgets

Influencer marketing accounted for 587 million euros of net advertiser investment in France in 2025, up 13.1 % year on year, or 5.2 % of all digital advertising spend, according to the second edition of the ARPP and France Pub study. That single figure places the channel: neither marginal nor dominant, but established and growing steadily. Here is the data that lets you build a budget you can defend to a board, and compare it with what other advertisers actually spend.

What influencer marketing is worth in France

The French influencer marketing market is the net investment advertisers make in paid or in-kind collaborations with content creators. The ARPP and France Pub study has measured it since 2022, surveying national and local advertisers alike.

The series shows steady growth: 323 million euros in 2022, 460 million in 2023, 519 million in 2024 and 587 million in 2025. The 2023 jump, above 42 %, reflects a catch-up phase. The two years that follow settle into a more measured pace of roughly 13 % a year.

That slowdown is the interesting part for a marketing director. A channel growing 13 % a year over two consecutive years is no longer a bet. It is an ordinary budget line, whose level has to be justified like any other.

The share of digital spend influence captures

The share of digital captured by influence is the ratio between that investment and total digital advertising spend. It moved from 3.6 % in 2022 to 5.2 % in 2025, according to the same study.

This indicator says something the headline amount does not. Influence is not growing only because digital is growing: it is gaining ground inside digital. A budget trade-off is happening, at the expense of other lines.

For a marketing team, that is the strongest argument to take to a leadership meeting. It rests on four years of observed market behaviour rather than on a promise of performance.

How many advertisers invest, and at what level

The study puts at 18 % the share of national advertisers that worked with content creators in 2025, roughly 1,800 advertisers. That proportion rises to 26 % among those whose annual digital budget exceeds 150,000 euros.

The distribution of amounts is the most useful figure in practice. Among national advertisers, 28 % invest less than 10,000 euros, 50 % between 10,000 and 50,000 euros, and 16 % go beyond 50,000 euros.

In other words, half the market sits in a 10,000 to 50,000 euro band per year. A smaller budget is nothing unusual, but it places a brand in the lower quarter of the market in terms of means, which mechanically limits how many collaborations are possible. These amounts say nothing about the unit cost of a single collaboration, a subject we cover in our article on the cost of recruiting an influencer.

The sectors that invest the most

The second edition of the study breaks investment down by sector for the first time. The ranking shows a clear concentration in visually driven consumer categories.

• Fashion and accessories: 81 million euros.
• Specialist retail and e-commerce: 58 million euros.
• Services: 45 million euros.
• Travel and tourism: 37 million euros.
• Culture and leisure: 36 million euros.

These amounts help calibrate an ambition. A fashion brand investing at its sector average is competing with advertisers already well equipped on the channel. A services brand faces less density, which changes the reasoning about how much investment is needed simply to be seen.

What has changed in how brands work

The structuring of practice is the most striking shift of the period, and the least often quoted. It comes down to three movements that all tell the same story.

Payment has become financial

Among national advertisers, the share of collaborations paid in cash rose from 33 % in 2022 to 84 % in 2025. Product gifting remains more common among local advertisers, bearing in mind that it also constitutes commercial influence and must be disclosed as such under the French law of 9 June 2023.

Intermediation has become the norm

In 2025, 65 % of national advertisers worked through an agency or an intermediary, against 37 % in 2022. Over the same period, the share who personally know the creator they work with fell from 43 % to 21 %.

Compliance is progressing, slowly

The ARPP Responsible Influence Certificate is known to 28 % of national advertisers and 20 % of local ones. Taken together, these three movements say the channel is leaving informal one-to-one deals behind and entering a conventional media buying process, with contracts, briefs and measurement.

What the international figures say

International data confirms the trend without being directly comparable, because measurement scopes differ from one study to the next.

In the United States, eMarketer puts influencer marketing spending at 10.52 billion dollars in 2025, up 15 %, after a 2024 that grew 23.7 %. The profile is the same as in France: deceleration after a catch-up phase, on a now substantial base.

On stated intentions, the annual Influencer Marketing Hub benchmark reports that 87.49 % of respondents expect their influencer budget to increase. A stated intention is not a recorded spend, and the distinction matters when building a projection.

What these figures do not tell you

A market figure is no substitute for reasoning. Three limits are worth keeping in mind before leaning on them.

Scopes vary from one source to another. Depending on the study, the paid amplification of creator content is either counted in the total or left out. Comparing two sources without checking that point produces gaps that mean nothing.

Distributions hide the spread. Knowing that half of advertisers invest between 10,000 and 50,000 euros says nothing about the spread inside that band, nor about how many collaborations that amount funds depending on the niche and the formats expected.

No market figure predicts a result. At Sleeq, this data serves to place an ambition and defend a budget, never to announce a performance: that depends on the brief, the creators selected and the quality of the content produced.

What these figures change for a marketing team

Then comes using them. Three practical readings emerge, and the first often changes the tone of a budget meeting.

The channel is no longer defended on novelty. With four years of growth and a rising share of digital, influence is an established line. The internal argument is no longer whether to do it, but at what level and with what measurement, which we detail in our article on the return on investment of an influencer campaign.

Budget levels can be benchmarked. Facing a leadership team that asks why this envelope rather than another, the three-band distribution gives an immediate answer: here is where the market sits, here is where we sit, here is the gap. That is a shorter conversation than a results deck.

Working through a partner is now standard. Two national advertisers out of three use an intermediary. At Sleeq, a creative social and influence agency based in Paris, that shift shows up as better framed pitches, with objectives and deliverables written down in advance. If you are at the stage of comparing providers, our overview of influence agencies in France and our article on how much a social media agency costs give the comparison points.

FAQ on influencer marketing figures

How big is influencer marketing in France?

Net advertiser investment reached 587 million euros in 2025, up 13.1 % year on year, according to the second edition of the ARPP and France Pub study. That amount represents 5.2 % of all digital advertising spend, against 3.6 % in 2022. The series measured by this study starts at 323 million euros in 2022.

What budget do companies typically allocate to influence?

Among national advertisers, the same study finds 28 % investing less than 10,000 euros a year, 50 % between 10,000 and 50,000 euros and 16 % above 50,000 euros. Half the market therefore sits in the middle band. This is a reference for placing an envelope, not a price list: rates depend on the brief, the niche and the rights negotiated.

What share of advertisers does influencer marketing?

18 % of national advertisers worked with content creators in 2025, roughly 1,800 advertisers, according to the ARPP and France Pub study. The share reaches 26 % among those whose annual digital budget exceeds 150,000 euros. Adoption remains a minority position by advertiser count, but is markedly higher among those already invested in digital.

Do brands still pay creators in products?

Less than they used to, among larger advertisers. The share of collaborations paid in cash rose from 33 % in 2022 to 84 % in 2025 among national advertisers. Product gifting remains more common among local advertisers. In both cases it constitutes commercial influence and must be disclosed as such under the French law of 9 June 2023.

How many brands work through an agency?

65 % of national advertisers worked through an agency or an intermediary in 2025, against 37 % in 2022. Over the same period, the share who personally know the creator fell from 43 % to 21 %. The channel is moving away from direct relationships towards a structured media purchase, with contracts and measurement.

Can French and US figures be compared?

Not directly. Measurement scopes differ: some studies count only the fees paid to creators, others add the paid amplification of that content. eMarketer puts the US market at 10.52 billion dollars in 2025, a base on an entirely different scale from the French market. Growth trends are comparable, absolute levels are not.

In short

Influencer marketing is worth 587 million euros in France in 2025, grows 13.1 % a year and captures 5.2 % of digital spend. Half of the national advertisers who invest do so between 10,000 and 50,000 euros a year, two in three work through an intermediary, and cash payment has become the rule. These reference points, rather than performance promises, are what hold a budget up in front of a leadership team.

To frame your own influence setup, explore our influence offer or tell us about your situation. If you are starting from scratch on the subject, our guide on what influencer marketing is covers the basics.