Best Buy, Lowe’s chief marketing officers explain why they launched new influencer programs

Best Buy in April launched the Best Buy Creator program, which gives creators the ability to create a storefront to highlight their content and earn a commission on sales of products in their tailored collections with no commission cap. Some of the first influencers to join the program have included Linus Sebastian of YouTube channel Linus Tech Tips, Judner Aura of UrAvgConsumer, and tech and lifestyle creator Jenna Ezarik.

In June, Lowe’s announced the Lowe’s Creator Network, which also offers commissions and storefronts, as well as product samples, training resources like tutorials, and the potential for project funding, long-term sponsorships and access to events like Lowe’s Creator Summit. One of the first creators is popular online video creator MrBeast, or Jimmy Donaldson. On his storefront, shoppers can see his favorite materials and tools and DIY projects inspired by his videos.

CMOs at Best Buy and Lowe’s told Modern Retail they launched these new programs in response to the growing importance of influencers in recommending products to shoppers. The new programs exhibit an evolution beyond affiliate links and toward more personalized shoppable content, measurability and new ways to compensate creators.

‘The market was moving in this direction’

Jennie Weber, chief marketing and design officer for Best Buy, told Modern Retail in an interview the focus of the program is on being “creator-first” by giving creators flexibility to tailor their storefronts around their passion areas, from cooking to photography.

“We really wanted to create something that enabled that authentic voice of the creator to come through and really met their needs as a business owner,” she said.

She said the company also plans to offer opportunities to be featured in Best Buy campaigns and for additional bonuses. So far, more than 600 creators have been accepted to partner with Best Buy, and close to 100 storefronts have already launched, according to Weber. Best Buy’s program does not have requirements on audience size, and the company does not dictate which products creators pick.

“We are always looking for ways to help customers discover new technology and thinking about how that technology really amplifies the things they love doing in their life,” Weber said. “We think about their passion points and how technology fits into that, and if you think about it, today, the way that consumers in general are tapping into their passion points — a lot of that is around influencers, and learning from influencers, and getting new product ideas and ways to use products.”

Weber said Best Buy had previously worked with influencers over the years, but as more of an advertising lever to reach customers while they’re scrolling social media — simply doing a campaign with a creator where they talk about Best Buy’s products or services. In this case, however, the creators are working with the retailer on content geared toward shoppers on Best Buy’s website.

“Creators are a critical component of a modern marketing plan, and so we will continue to have influencers that we partner with in that way,” Weber said. “We saw that the market was moving in this direction, where more and more consumers were actually leveraging social platforms for search — they were leveraging influencers for product ideas and almost DIY, or how to set it up, or how to use it. We wanted to be positioned alongside those creators to be able to be in front of consumers and provide that helpful content to them.”

eaching future homeowners via MrBeast

Jen Wilson, CMO of Lowe’s, said in an email that creators and their communities are key to accelerating the company’s online and digital growth. She said the goal is for the brand to reach Millennials, Gen Z and Gen Alpha who trust creators for advice, product picks and inspiration.

“As people consume content through their feeds, they’re inspired to shop more impulsively, especially online,” Wilson said. “Creators are often more trusted than brands, especially among younger generations — who are a key growth audience for Lowe’s.”

One of those creators is MrBeast; the company not only is working with him on storefronts but is also the exclusive building partner for season two of his “Beast Games” series on Amazon Prime Video. Lowe’s employees helped him create a complex to house contestants and serve as the show’s set.

“We want to build and foster those relationships now, before they even own homes,” Wilson said. “Gen Alpha’s influence on family purchases is powerful, and Gen Z is establishing brand loyalty at an early age. We’re also continuing to engage our core home improvement audience, but we’re reaching them in more modern, creative spaces where digital conversations are already happening.”

While Lowe’s has worked with creators before, Wilson said this is the company’s “first formal, network-based program with scale, structure and long-term strategy behind it.” So far, it has 17,000 members in its network from beta testing — which first launched in late 2023 — and aims to grow it to 50,000 creators over the next three years.

The importance of creators to retail

The Lowe’s program is unique in being a “hybrid model,” both giving creators incentives for being part of the program — such as the potential for project funding or event access — as well as giving them up to 20% commission, said Keith Bendes, chief strategy officer for influencer marketing agency Linqia.

“A lot of retailers or brands, in general, are saying, ‘What if we provide baseline incentives for being part of this program, whether that’s free product, free access potential or whatever it is, but also give them commission?” Bendes said. “It’s taken this long for leadership to realize they have no other option — this is the new world we live in. … If you want to be relevant, you better be social-first, you better be creator- and influencer-first.”

This more robust approach to working with creators comes as legacy retailers adjust to social shopping.

“Historically, if someone on TikTok said, ‘This is a really great podcasting microphone,’ I would go to Amazon or Walmart after they said that, and I’d buy it,” Bendes said. “Now, TikTok is making it so I don’t have to do that. … The retailers see that and say, ‘We need to have storefronts, we need to keep the recommendations on our site, and we need to have the conversions be on our site.’”

The storefront programs launched by Best Buy and Lowe’s also follow similar initiatives launched by Amazon and Walmart, in 2017 and 2022. They also offer commissions to influencers who create storefronts to showcase products sold on their websites.

Adam Tanielian, svp and head of global gaming client services for BENLabs, said brands have become more focused on ensuring they reach relevant audiences, rather than as many as possible.

“Brands are not as worried about how much scale [they’re] going to get. Obviously, you want to reach mass, but you also want to ensure you’re reaching audiences that care,” he said.

Tanielian said that while in his previous role as head of global community engagement for video game publisher Electronic Arts, the company started to take the approach of letting creators serve as the voice of the brand, giving them more autonomy over the content. Storefronts reflect this approach by using a shopping channel as a storytelling mechanism, Tanielian said, rather than the content solely living on YouTube or TikTok.

“They’re putting the power of creation in the hands of the creators, so that the brand comes to life through the eyes of their community,” Tanielian said. “I think brands are really starting to ask the right questions and to be much more progressive in how they create these programs.”