IAB Australia’s new Creator Connect report makes one generational split hard to ignore: Australian online shoppers under 40 treat creator content as a default discovery channel, while older shoppers fade fast and stay wary of paid partnerships.
The numbers behind the gap
Across 1,079 Australian online shoppers aged 18 to 70, 61% say they often or sometimes discover brands through creators. That jumps to 84% for 18-29s and 85% for 30-39s, then drops to 63% for 40-49s, 38% for 50-59s and 21% for 60-70s.
A separate journey metric shows creator content used by 48% of all shoppers at some point in discovery, research or comparison, rising to 72% for under-40s. The gap between 48% and 61% is worth noting: one measures a specific journey role, the other a broader habit of meeting brands through creators.
Trust beats entertainment
Creators do not win because they are entertaining. The most important factor is the brand’s own reputation at 86%, followed by creator authenticity and expertise at 84% each. Seeing the creator use the product, a discount and brand fit each score 81%; entertainment comes last at 74%.
For performance marketers, that order matters. A polished UGC ad is not enough if the promoted brand lacks trust signals. Creator selection should be assessed like media: audience truth, relevance and proof of use before reach.
Disclosure has a real cost
Disclosing paid partnerships reduces action for 44% of Australian shoppers, and 54% of shoppers aged 50 to 70. That is not a reason to hide sponsorships. The ACCC has already fined PhotobookShop and Hismile in 2026, and platforms are moving to label undisclosed deals. The right play is to treat transparency as a targeting filter: lean into creators whose audience accepts paid recommendations and reinforce brand reputation to offset the penalty.
Useful checklist:
- Target creator budgets where discovery is strongest: under-40 audiences and early journey moments.
- Screen creators for demonstrated use of the product, not just follower counts.
- Make brand reputation visible in creator content: reviews, guarantees, retail signals.
- Treat disclosure as mandatory and optimize creative to earn action despite the label.
AI becomes a second shelf
The report’s AI chapter finds 55% of AI-using shoppers prefer recommendations to include creator reviews, and 70% say it is very important that AI explains the sources behind its answers. Everyday consumers sharing real experiences lead the creator trust list at 52%, far ahead of celebrities at 12.7%.
Australia, however, is cautious: 23% of local AI shoppers found a new creator through an AI-generated result, the lowest of five markets. For search and content teams, that means creator visibility inside AI answers is an emerging measurement gap, not a distant trend.
Budgets are following attention
US creator-economy ad spend is estimated at $37.1 billion for 2025 and $43.9 billion for 2026, with 2025 growth of 26% against 5.7% for the broader media market. Creators rank third behind social media and paid search as an essential channel for US brands. IAB Australia also flags social video as Australia’s fastest-growing ad category, though the local figure is cited from secondary materials.
The strategic takeaway: creator content is no longer a test-and-learn footnote. It is a discovery layer, a trust layer and increasingly an AI ranking layer.
Source: PPC Land
