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Posted: 2020-05-18T09:45:03Z | Updated: 2020-05-19T19:59:41Z

A data analysis published at the end of April forecast a drop in retail spending of nearly $550 billion dollars in 2020 due to coronavirus impacts, and many major fashion retailers are predicted to declare bankruptcy in the wake of store closures. Consumers are also feeling the squeeze, with over 33 million Americans filing for unemployment since March.

This drop in spending and discretionary income will hit many parts of the economy including the influencer marketing model, which is already seeing the impacts.

Below, five influencers talk about how their businesses have already been affected by the pandemic, and how we can expect to see their business models shift in the months to come.

Consumers tolerance for paid content has changed since the pandemic

At a minimum, partnerships between influencers and brands will look very different post-quarantine. Moving forward, brands and influencers alike will need to take extra care in the messages they send to audiences. Prominent influencers have faced backlash as the divide between the haves and have nots grows larger in an uncertain economy.

I went from making around $2,000 a month in advertising to $100 a month because advertisers arent paying as much.

In the early days of the crisis, we noticed some criticism of influencers who were moving forward with paid posts, said Carrie Larson, the director of brand partnerships at Creator Lab , an online platform that connects brands with creators. While consumers originally viewed these as insensitive, theres been a shift in sentiment [throughout the coronavirus pandemic] of the general public and a better understanding that influencers are also people who need to pay rent.

But the days of hawking five-figure designer goods and concierge travel services may be long gone. Luxury goods are nearly impossible to promote on Instagram without followers seeing it as tone-deaf, cites full-time fashion influencer and photographer Jenny Stumme . Luxury giveaways of designer bags that were popular before are now seen as grotesque in this economy.

As consumer spending stalls, advertisers pay even less

Wired reported that there has been a 75% increase in shopping sessions on the LikeToKnowIt app which allows followers to shop influencers recommended products and brands during the pandemic, but display ad revenue for many influencers is way, way down.

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