A new report from influencer marketing platform Traackr reveals that beauty and fashion brands are experiencing an “attention recession” despite increased creator activity. The research shows declining engagement across multiple categories and platforms, signaling the need for a strategic shift in how brands approach creator marketing.
Content Saturation
According to Traackr’s H1 2025 analysis, beauty creators are posting more content than ever, but audience engagement is slipping. While creator volume increased significantly – makeup (+24%), skincare (+22%), and hair care (+37%) – engagement metrics showed concerning declines across these categories.
The data indicates that makeup content saw a 6% drop in engagements and 3% decline in video views, while skincare experienced steeper drops with engagements down 20% and video views down 3%. Hair care content showed similar trends with 6% fewer engagements and 12% fewer video views.
Notably, fragrance was the only beauty category to buck the trend, showing growth across all metrics with creator volume up 26%, engagements increasing 1%, and video views climbing 26%.
The report identifies content fatigue as a key factor behind declining metrics. Once-dominant formats like “Get Ready With Me” (GRWM) content have lost their effectiveness, with GRWM posts down 10% year over year and experiencing drops in engagement (19%) and video views (17%).
“Beauty doesn’t have a reach problem – it has a relevance problem. It’s time for a new playbook,” the report states.
Increased Spending Ineffective
According to Traackr’s full H1 2025 subscriber report, many brands have responded to declining organic performance by increasing paid partnerships. Beauty brands boosted creator volume for paid content by 41% and increased post frequency by 50%.
However, this investment yielded modest returns. While paid beauty content saw a 22% increase in video views and 18% growth in total attention (measured via VIT, Traackr’s Brand Vitality Score), engagement barely moved, showing just a 2% decline compared to an 11% drop in organic content engagement.
The fashion industry showed similar patterns. Brands increased paid creator volume by 31% and post frequency by 18%, resulting in 31% higher attention scores. Meanwhile, organic fashion content saw minimal growth in creator activity (+11%) and post frequency (+1%), with double-digit declines in engagement (-10%) and video views (-11%).
“Scaling paid efforts alone isn’t enough to spark meaningful growth. If content doesn’t evolve, audience engagement will keep falling,” the report concludes.
Platform Dynamics
The research reveals significant changes in platform performance for both beauty and fashion content:
For beauty content:
YouTube led with the strongest growth, showing a 17% increase in total attention and a 33% rise in video views.
TikTok maintained positive momentum with 13% higher attention and 14% growth in video views.
Instagram experienced the steepest declines, with attention down 28% and video views falling 22%.
In fashion:
Instagram still commands “the lion’s share of attention,” but is losing ground with a 15% drop in total attention.
TikTok showed the strongest growth with a 27% increase in attention.
YouTube also performed well with 16% higher attention metrics.
Smaller Creators Outperform Larger Accounts
One of the most notable findings is the superior performance of nano creators (those with 1,000-10,000 followers) compared to larger accounts. In beauty, nano creators achieved a 26% increase in total attention, driven by 27% higher engagement and 19% more video views.
Similarly, in fashion, nano creators saw 23% growth in attention metrics, with engagement up 33% and video views increasing 25%.
The report attributes this success to the perceived authenticity and relatability of smaller creators. “While macros, megas, and VIPs still account for the majority of total attention, the largest year-on-year growth is coming from smaller creators, whose content resonates because it feels more personal and less polished,” the report notes.
Brand Spotlights Reveal Successful Strategies
Traackr highlights two brands that have successfully navigated these challenges:
Rhode Skin jumped 15 positions to rank 6th among beauty brands, driven almost entirely by organic creator activity. With just 1% of posts being paid, which is the lowest rate among the top 10 beauty brands, Rhode achieved strong creator performance with high posting frequency and engagement rates. The report suggests Rhode’s success stems from building “real community, not just reach.”
Lululemon climbed seven positions to rank ninth among fashion brands by activating a high volume of smaller creators. Despite a lower average audience size compared to industry benchmarks, Lululemon’s content significantly outperformed industry averages. The brand expanded beyond fitness into lifestyle, fashion, and wellness, particularly on TikTok, where creator volume increased 80% year over year.
Recommendations for Brands
Traackr’s report offers brands a strategic roadmap to navigate the attention recession. Rather than simply expanding reach, brands should adopt what Traackr calls “love-first logic,” identifying and nurturing relationships with creators who demonstrate genuine brand affinity and consistent engagement over time.
The research suggests brands need to meet creators in authentic cultural moments that matter to their audiences. When brands show up in ways that add value to creators’ existing narratives – as seen with Poppi’s integration into Alix Earle’s brand across events from Coachella to the Super Bowl – they transform organic enthusiasm into compelling storytelling that resonates with audiences.
Traackr also emphasizes quality over quantity. Successful brands like One/Size are focusing on coherent strategic narratives rather than disconnected content volume. By aligning behind fewer, sharper storylines that audiences can emotionally connect with, brands create recognition and differentiation in an oversaturated market.
To implement these strategies effectively, Traackr advises brands to analyze the four key levers of creator marketing performance: creator volume, posting frequency, audience size, and content performance.
The report concludes that in today’s saturated market, “You don’t need just attention. You need belief,” emphasizing that advocacy, not just advertising, drives sustainable brand growth in the creator economy.
All images are credited to Traackr. The full report is available here.
David Adler is an entrepreneur and freelance blog post writer who enjoys writing about business, entrepreneurship, travel and the influencer marketing space.
A new report from influencer marketing platform Traackr reveals that beauty and fashion brands are experiencing an “attention recession” despite increased creator activity. The research shows declining engagement across multiple categories and platforms, signaling the need for a strategic shift in how brands approach creator marketing.
Content Saturation
According to Traackr’s H1 2025 analysis, beauty creators are posting more content than ever, but audience engagement is slipping. While creator volume increased significantly – makeup (+24%), skincare (+22%), and hair care (+37%) – engagement metrics showed concerning declines across these categories.
The data indicates that makeup content saw a 6% drop in engagements and 3% decline in video views, while skincare experienced steeper drops with engagements down 20% and video views down 3%. Hair care content showed similar trends with 6% fewer engagements and 12% fewer video views.
Notably, fragrance was the only beauty category to buck the trend, showing growth across all metrics with creator volume up 26%, engagements increasing 1%, and video views climbing 26%.
The report identifies content fatigue as a key factor behind declining metrics. Once-dominant formats like “Get Ready With Me” (GRWM) content have lost their effectiveness, with GRWM posts down 10% year over year and experiencing drops in engagement (19%) and video views (17%).
“Beauty doesn’t have a reach problem – it has a relevance problem. It’s time for a new playbook,” the report states.
Increased Spending Ineffective
According to Traackr’s full H1 2025 subscriber report, many brands have responded to declining organic performance by increasing paid partnerships. Beauty brands boosted creator volume for paid content by 41% and increased post frequency by 50%.
However, this investment yielded modest returns. While paid beauty content saw a 22% increase in video views and 18% growth in total attention (measured via VIT, Traackr’s Brand Vitality Score), engagement barely moved, showing just a 2% decline compared to an 11% drop in organic content engagement.
The fashion industry showed similar patterns. Brands increased paid creator volume by 31% and post frequency by 18%, resulting in 31% higher attention scores. Meanwhile, organic fashion content saw minimal growth in creator activity (+11%) and post frequency (+1%), with double-digit declines in engagement (-10%) and video views (-11%).
“Scaling paid efforts alone isn’t enough to spark meaningful growth. If content doesn’t evolve, audience engagement will keep falling,” the report concludes.
Platform Dynamics
The research reveals significant changes in platform performance for both beauty and fashion content:
For beauty content:
In fashion:
Smaller Creators Outperform Larger Accounts
One of the most notable findings is the superior performance of nano creators (those with 1,000-10,000 followers) compared to larger accounts. In beauty, nano creators achieved a 26% increase in total attention, driven by 27% higher engagement and 19% more video views.
Similarly, in fashion, nano creators saw 23% growth in attention metrics, with engagement up 33% and video views increasing 25%.
The report attributes this success to the perceived authenticity and relatability of smaller creators. “While macros, megas, and VIPs still account for the majority of total attention, the largest year-on-year growth is coming from smaller creators, whose content resonates because it feels more personal and less polished,” the report notes.
Brand Spotlights Reveal Successful Strategies
Traackr highlights two brands that have successfully navigated these challenges:
Rhode Skin jumped 15 positions to rank 6th among beauty brands, driven almost entirely by organic creator activity. With just 1% of posts being paid, which is the lowest rate among the top 10 beauty brands, Rhode achieved strong creator performance with high posting frequency and engagement rates. The report suggests Rhode’s success stems from building “real community, not just reach.”
Lululemon climbed seven positions to rank ninth among fashion brands by activating a high volume of smaller creators. Despite a lower average audience size compared to industry benchmarks, Lululemon’s content significantly outperformed industry averages. The brand expanded beyond fitness into lifestyle, fashion, and wellness, particularly on TikTok, where creator volume increased 80% year over year.
Recommendations for Brands
Traackr’s report offers brands a strategic roadmap to navigate the attention recession. Rather than simply expanding reach, brands should adopt what Traackr calls “love-first logic,” identifying and nurturing relationships with creators who demonstrate genuine brand affinity and consistent engagement over time.
The research suggests brands need to meet creators in authentic cultural moments that matter to their audiences. When brands show up in ways that add value to creators’ existing narratives – as seen with Poppi’s integration into Alix Earle’s brand across events from Coachella to the Super Bowl – they transform organic enthusiasm into compelling storytelling that resonates with audiences.
Traackr also emphasizes quality over quantity. Successful brands like One/Size are focusing on coherent strategic narratives rather than disconnected content volume. By aligning behind fewer, sharper storylines that audiences can emotionally connect with, brands create recognition and differentiation in an oversaturated market.
To implement these strategies effectively, Traackr advises brands to analyze the four key levers of creator marketing performance: creator volume, posting frequency, audience size, and content performance.
The report concludes that in today’s saturated market, “You don’t need just attention. You need belief,” emphasizing that advocacy, not just advertising, drives sustainable brand growth in the creator economy.
All images are credited to Traackr.
The full report is available here.
Checkout Our Latest Podcast