Creator hauls fade as brands trade volume for storytelling

By Nathan Brooks

Sponsored haul posts drew an average of 1,780 monthly engagements per post in January through October 2026, down from 2,633 in 2025 and 5,900 in 2022.

CreatorIQ data run exclusively for Business Insider showed likes, comments and shares across all haul and unboxing posts leveling off over the past year after earlier growth. Sponsored hauls produced the sharper drop.

Traackr data pulled exclusively for Business Insider showed a parallel shift in the mix of paid creator content:

• Sponsored hauls fell from 2.4% of sponsored posts in January through September 2025 to 1.2% in the same period in 2026.
• Sponsored unboxing videos fell from 1.3% to 0.7% over those periods.

Business Insider reported that watching influencers unbox free products or detail the latest splurge is losing its luster. For years, creators piled products into social videos while brands and retailers sponsored them or paid for resulting sales, creating an inexpensive onramp into the creator economy.

Lucy Kruszynski, global head of brand at Buttermilk, explained the old logic: “The volume of what someone had bought was the story,” she said. “The bigger the bag in the thumbnail, the higher the views.”

“We're doing fewer hauls, fewer unboxings,” said Grace Murray Vazquez, an EVP at influencer marketing platform Fohr. Industry insiders said brands and creators now favor content that integrates products into a story.

Traackr's data showed more haul and unboxing posts this year than in 2025, even as overall sponsored-post volume grew rapidly. Their shrinking share fits Business Insider's assessment that creator commerce is maturing: audiences become more selective and brands put more weight on trust.

The emphasis on trust raises the bar for sponsored content, though Business Insider said it could make creators a more valuable marketing channel over time. Haul content normally spikes during the holidays, making the coming season an early test.

Brands are trading surplus for use cases

Amanda Acevedo, director of talent at G&B Digital Management, said she used to receive 10 outreach requests a month for haul-style fashion and makeup videos. She can no longer remember the last time she received such a request.

Acevedo said brands now ask creators to focus on one product, such as boots or eyeliner, and emphasize its value. “That whole 'styling 10 dresses in one Reel' is really outdated,” she said.

Acevedo's experience matches the broader move Business Insider found in creators' unpaid posts. Creators increasingly explain why a product matters beyond its novelty, according to the reporting.

Buttermilk's Kruszynski put it directly: “We're seeing a broader shift towards content that gives people a reason to care about a product beyond the fact that it's new,” she said. “Think cost-per-wear breakdowns, wardrobe re-styling, genuinely useful recommendations, product demonstrations, and creators explaining why something has earned a permanent place in their routine.”

Julia Comil, a creator who often promotes luxury items, said brands recently shifted their requests to “more creative ones, with storytelling.” In a recent Instagram Reel featuring a Longchamp bucket bag, she moved through the day and showed the bag's versatility.

“When you do the haul, you don't have any storytelling,” Comil said. “I think for clothing when you're in the high-end business, you need to create an emotion with the clothing.”

Comil welcomed the shift. Her storytelling videos cost more to produce than old hauls because she hires a videographer. She said they receive more views and drive more sales.

Audiences are resisting constant pitches

Business Insider cited audience fatigue as one explanation: the more hauls spread, the more often people heard the pitch. The “underconsumption core” and “deinfluencing” trends also reflected a growing backlash to online shopping culture.

Inflation has prompted some consumers to trade down and cut back on splurges. A Harris Poll found that 59% of holiday shoppers surveyed in October expected to make financial trade-offs this season.

“It's a simple thing for people to skip away from,” said Murray Vazquez, especially “when they're not in a place to purchase 10 things.”

Other creator-economy insiders pointed to consumer savvy. “They don't want to feel like they're constantly being sold to,” said Lily Comba, CEO of Superbloom. Natasha Valerie, cofounder of The Viralist Group, said people are “exposed to ads every day” and “being more selective.”

Brands have responded by giving creators looser briefs, on the belief that more organic videos will resonate and convert better. Business Insider's reporting also linked the rise of short-form video to a disincentive for longer, haul-style videos.

The shift doesn't mean hauls or unboxings will disappear. Business Insider cited TikTok Shop, whose US sales have eclipsed Target.com's, as evidence that product-led video still works when shopping is immediate.

Kruszny said TikTok Shop's unboxing and product-led content can drive sales because the platform makes buying easy. Valerie said product-focused videos can work when they offer surprise or feature an interesting or aspirational product. “They're getting a glimpse into a lifestyle they wouldn't have access to,” she said.

What does this change for brands and creators?

The practical change: campaigns built around sheer product volume now give way to briefs built around one product, its value and a credible use case. Creators need a story or demonstration that can justify the purchase; brands need content that preserves trust rather than resembling another ad.

The evidence also favors looser creator briefs and formats such as cost-per-wear analysis, wardrobe restyling, useful recommendations and product demonstrations. For luxury sellers, that can mean producing a more expensive Reel, hiring a videographer and showing versatility in a real day.

Alex Rawitz, director of research and insights at CreatorIQ, put the next test plainly: “That'll be a key indicator if it underperforms in its strongest time period,” he said.

If sponsored hauls underperform during their peak shopping window, brands and creators will have stronger evidence that the old volume formula has lost its edge. If product-led storytelling remains effective, creator campaigns will increasingly resemble shoppable demonstrations, not shopping pile-ons.