![Consumers' Most Trusted Purchase Information Sources [CHART]](https://trends.e-strategyblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/201135.gif "Chart - Consumers' Most Trusted Purchase Information Sources")
Most people don’t shop in isolation. They are inspired, informed and assured by others throughout the path to purchase. A slew of marketing approaches have developed to identify, activate or enable key individuals who can sway the brand preferences, buying decisions and loyalty of others. Together, they make up the influencer marketing ecosystem.
Most industries treat influencer marketing primarily as a top-of-the-funnel tool. Not the case with retail, which uses social influence throughout the path to purchase, as explored in a new eMarketer report, “Influencers in US Retail: The YouTube Stars, Reviewers and Superfans Consumers Trust.”
Because much of their attention has been on the bottom of the purchase funnel, retailers have relied on brand partners to create the product-level awareness and positioning that has powered the growth of influencer marketing. Read the rest at eMarketer.
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