By Admin 
Seeing the pace at which India’s influencer economy has grown in the last few years, it seemed that this sector would never look back. This market, which was estimated at Rs 1,900 crore in 2023, was expected to increase to Rs 3,400 crore by 2027. But the reality is that this market is on its way to cross the Rs 5,000 crore mark. That means it is growing faster than expected. However, as this market is growing, its weaknesses are also coming to light. Delay in payment, abundance of agencies and lack of trust are the cracks that have started appearing in this economy…
Delay in payment became the biggest headache
The biggest problem in the influencer economy is regarding payment. Food creator Ayush Sapra told Moneycontrol, ‘Today it has become very difficult for creators to trust brands or agencies immediately. It takes time to build trust, especially when it comes to payments.
There are two major reasons for delay in payments:
- Workload on agencies: Pranav Panpaliya, co-founder of influencer-marketing agency Oprah, says agencies have to pay creators quickly, while clients have long payment terms, which puts pressure on working capital. This means that the money comes to the agency, but late, whereas it has to be given to the creator on time. The gap in between becomes the cause of delay.
- Creators galore: Agencies are now offering payment terms of 30 days or more, as they have no shortage of creators willing to accept such terms. This means that if a creator does not agree to these conditions, then the agency will definitely find another creator.
Is delayed payment the only problem in the influencer economy?
No, there is an even bigger problem – there is no official agreement. Ayush Sapra said, ‘I was also contacted by such brands and agencies who did not even offer any official agreement or email trail. They wanted to deal only on the basis of WhatsApp messages or phone calls. Small creators often don’t have the option to refuse these deals.
Out of 2,000 agencies, only 35 have 70% market.
Another big problem in influencer marketing is that there have been too many agencies. There are 1,500 to 2,000 influencer-marketing agencies in India.
According to Neil Gogia, co-founder and CEO of IPLIX Media, the top 30-35 agencies handle 70-75% of the Rs 4,000 crore market. This means that more than 1,200 small agencies are fighting among themselves for the remaining 25-30% of the market.
Neil Gogia further said, ‘It is easy to do a business of Rs 1-2 crore a month because there are so many creators and brands, but it is difficult to grow beyond this.’ Most agencies operate in the revenue bracket of Rs 20 lakh to Rs 1 crore and often rely on only 2-3 big clients.
Raj Mishra, MD and CEO of Chhatrabox, said, ‘When a person has a spreadsheet of Instagram handles, he can call himself an agency. It becomes difficult for brands to tell who is actually doing strategic work and who is just doing transactions.
Increasing pressure of declining earnings on margins
Another effect of the abundance of agencies is increasing pressure on margins. Raj Mishra clearly said, ‘Agencies are now competing on price instead of value, which is not sustainable in the long run.’ This means that agencies are taking work from each other at cheaper rates, due to which their own earnings are decreasing. Due to this, the fees of the creators are increasing, but there is a problem in measuring the ROI (Return on Investment). As a result, everyone in the market is busy, but not everyone is profitable.
ASCI report breaks trust
Apart from the problem of payment and agencies, there is another big crisis facing this economy – trust. The Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) investigated 1,609 influencer-based advertising cases in 2025. The surprising thing is that in more than 97% of the cases, amendment or corrective action was required. These:
- More than 50% of the violations were related to the promotion of illegal products. This includes offshore betting platforms and alcohol.
- 869 influencers were caught in illegal betting or promotion of other banned categories.
- Of the influencers included in Forbes India’s Top 100 Digital Stars list, 76% were found to be in violation in 2025, up from 69% in 2024.
ASCI has clearly warned, ‘The rapid growth of influencer marketing has left the accountability system behind.’
Why is ‘Quiet Reset’ happening with influencers?
According to a report by ETPlay, the influencer economy is going through a ‘quiet reset’. Brands are now cutting down their spend on influencers and are being more careful. Now any controversial mistake or careless social media post can damage a big brand endorsement. Recent controversies like ‘India’s Got Latent’ have made brands more cautious.
Is the influencer economy in trouble?
According to experts, India’s influencer economy is growing rapidly, but along with it many cracks are also emerging:
- Delay in payment: Making creators wait for 30 days or more and not making any official agreement.
- Lots of agencies: 2,000 agencies, but only 30-35 agencies have 70-75% of the market.
- Pressure on Margins: Competition on price, profits are declining.
- Lack of trust: In 97% of the cases there were violations, so 76% of the top influencers were breaking the rules.
- Brands to be cautious: The move to cut expenses and do more investigation.
ASCI has warned that if these cracks are not filled, the influencer economy may be in trouble. Only in the coming days will it be decided whether it is able to bridge its cracks or disintegrates.