Creator marketers reconsider their approaches as hauls and unboxings lose their cool
· Business Insider
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Watching influencers unbox free things or detail their latest splurge is starting to lose its luster.
For years, creators have posted videos showing off heaps of products on social media. Brands and retailers often sponsor these "haul" or "unboxing" videos or pay creators for the sales they generate, providing an inexpensive onramp for many to join the creator economy.
"The volume of what someone had bought was the story," said Lucy Kruszynski, global head of brand at Buttermilk. "The bigger the bag in the thumbnail, the higher the views."
Now, these video styles are losing their heat — and some marketers are moving on.
"We're doing fewer hauls, fewer unboxings," Grace Murray Vazquez, an EVP at influencer marketing platform Fohr, told Business Insider. Industry insiders said brands and creators were focused more on content that integrated products into a story.
As a share of sponsored posts, hauls declined from 2.4% for January through September 2025 to 1.2% for the same period in 2026, according to data from the influencer marketing platform Traackr, pulled exclusively for Business Insider. Sponsored unboxing videos fell from 1.3% to 0.7%.
That decrease could be driven by a simple fact: audiences are tuning out.
CreatorIQ data run exclusively for Business Insider found that likes, comments, and shares across all haul and unboxing posts had leveled off over the past year, after a period of growth. Sponsored haul posts, in particular, have seen a dramatic decline in average monthly engagements per post, falling from 2,633 in 2025 to 1,780 in January through October this year. In 2022, sponsored hauls averaged 5,900 monthly engagements per post.
The volume of sponsored posts has been growing rapidly overall, and more haul and unboxing posts are being produced this year than in 2025, according to Traackr's data. That said, they represent a smaller percentage of paid posts than they did last year.
The shift shows how creator commerce is maturing, with audiences becoming more selective as social feeds fill up, and brands recognizing the importance of audience trust. That raises the bar for sponsored content but could also make creators a more valuable marketing channel in the long run.
The approaching holiday season will be a test of the format's staying power, as it's a time when its prevalence spikes.
"That'll be a key indicator if it underperforms in its strongest time period," said Alex Rawitz, director of research and insights at CreatorIQ.
Swapping surplus for storytelling
Creators and their managers say their experiences line up with what we're seeing in the data.
Amanda Acevedo, director of talent at G&B Digital Management, estimated that she used to receive 10 outreach requests a month for haul-style fashion and makeup videos. Today, she says she can't remember the last time she got such a request.
Acevedo said that brands are now asking creators to focus on a single product, like a pair of boots or eyeliner, and to emphasize its value.
"That whole 'styling 10 dresses in one Reel' is really outdated," she said.
The change in brands' briefs mirrors a shift in what creators post when they're not being paid.
"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," Buttermilk's Kruszynski 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."
For some creators, the development is a welcome one.
Julia Comil, a creator who often promotes luxury items, said brands used to ask her to do haul-style videos. She said that lately, they'd been asking for "more creative ones, with storytelling."
In a recent Instagram Reel for a Longchamp bucket bag, she moves through the day, showing 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."
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Comil added that these videos cost her more to make than the old haul-style ones — she has to hire a videographer — but she says they get more views and, importantly, drive more sales.
Why people are tuning out — and what still works
Creators and marketers have a range of explanations for the waning interest in hauls.
People may have grown tired of being constantly pitched as the format's use has mushroomed. There are also the "underconsumption core" and "deinfluencing" trends that have taken hold in response to online shopping culture.
Inflation, meanwhile, has some people trading down and cutting back on splurges. A Harris Poll found 59% of holiday shoppers surveyed in October said they expected to make financial trade-offs this season.
"It's a simple thing for people to skip away from," Fohr's Murray Vazquez said, especially "when they're not in a place to purchase 10 things."
Lily Comba, CEO of Superbloom, said people are tired of being sold to on social media.Superbloom
Other creator economy insiders feel the shift from hauls has more to do with consumers getting savvier.
"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 that people are "exposed to ads every day" and "being more selective."
Brands are getting used to giving creators looser briefs, believing videos that feel more organic will resonate — and convert — better. Meanwhile, the rise of short-form video may have disincentivized longer, haul-style videos.
This all doesn't mean unboxing or haul videos will go away completely. It's hard to deny TikTok Shop, whose US sales have eclipsed Target.com's. The platform's unboxing and product-led content can still be incredibly effective at driving sales, especially since it's so easy to buy there, Kruszynski of Buttermilk said.
Valerie said product-focused videos can work if there's an element of surprise or the product itself is interesting or out of reach for most people.
"They're getting a glimpse into a lifestyle they wouldn't have access to," she said.
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