5 Creator Marketing Trends That Will Define BFCM 2026
Here's how brands will approach the biggest retail moment of the year, based on insights from 120 creator marketers.
Black Friday and Cyber Monday are around the corner, and the stakes have never been higher. Last year, US holiday sales topped $1 trillion for the first time ever, and they're expected to climb even higher in 2026.
But the path to those sales has changed. Consumers now discover, research, and buy in the same feeds, which is exactly why creators have become so crucial to holiday success.
To understand how brands are adapting, we surveyed nearly 120 marketers across our community of creator marketing professionals. Here are the 5 trends shaping how brands will approach the biggest retail moment of the year.
1. Planning starts earlier, but content rolls out later.
The holiday planning calendar keeps creeping up. This year, 58% of marketers are planning to brief and onboard their creators by the end of September (including 24% who have already started in August or sooner).
But planning early does not mean brands are asking creators to post early. Most brands are holding their creator content until closer to the sale, with 61% planning to go live with their first BFCM post in November, including 16% that wait until the week of Thanksgiving or Black Friday itself. Brands need to lock in creators early, but stagger content so momentum builds toward the sale instead of peaking too soon.
2. Creators are now a core line in the holiday budget.
On average, brands are putting nearly a quarter (23%) of their total BFCM budget behind creators. And brands aren’t just maintaining that investment. 50% of marketers are increasing their creator budgets this holiday season, including 19% who are raising them by 20% or more. Only 10% is cutting back.
Why? Social is now driving 29% more ecommerce visits, and social commerce is on track to be the fastest-growing transaction channel of the season. As discovery and buying concentrate in the same feeds, it’s a smart move to shift budget towards the creators who drive impact.
3. Smaller, sharper rosters are winning
When picking their BFCM partners, brands are focusing more on quality over quantity. 51% of marketers surveyed plan to activate just 1 to 10 creators for BFCM 2026, and 75% plan to keep it to 25 or fewer, even at the enterprise level. Brands are choosing a handful of well-aligned creators who have proven to be good partners, and building their roster around a mix of creators who have different strengths.
4. Creator content has become a multi-channel asset
The value of creator content is no longer in a single post. A whopping 94% of brands plan to repurpose their creator content beyond where it started, feeding it into paid social, owned channels, and beyond. Brands are securing paid usage and allowlisting rights into their initial creator agreements to repurpose, retarget, and reach shoppers wherever they respond best.
5. Creators have matured into a performance channel
Creator marketing is being run with the rigor of a performance channel. Commission-based pay now factors into 41% of programs, whether as a hybrid or affiliate-only deal, tying pay to the sales a creator drives rather than a single flat-fee post.
Paired with a trackable offer, that performance-based model turns a creator roster into a measurable sales channel. It also keeps creators posting and selling across the entire season, especially when brands add time-sensitive incentives like commission boosts or leaderboards to spark a final-week surge.
Creators are the holiday season’s MVP
To have a successful BFCM season, treat creators as a connected, full-funnel program. Plan early, invest in the right partners, and connect creator content to your paid and owned channels.
Our full 2026 BFCM Influencer Marketing Playbook goes deeper into the benchmarks, budgets, offers, and tactics behind each one, all drawn from the marketers running these programs right now. Download it now.
