Meta pitches creators as performance lever: Reels, creators drive 71% higher brand intent lift

New Delhi: Meta and the Retailers Association of India (RAI) are pushing retailers to rewire marketing and measurement around “unified commerce”, arguing that India’s shoppers now move seamlessly between Instagram, WhatsApp, websites and physical stores. 

In a new whitepaper, they claim this shift is being powered by short-form video, creators and AI-led optimisation tools that can link digital campaigns to in-store sales.

The headline claim is that social media influences 77% of retail purchase decisions, with Meta platforms driving 96% of social discovery. 

The paper’s core argument is that retail is shifting from search-led buying to scroll-led discovery, with Reels and creators shaping trust and accelerating evaluation.

Meta-RAI also highlight “phygital” behaviour as the new norm. The report states that more than 50% of consumers research online before buying in-store, and over 50% research in-store before buying online. 

It adds that omnichannel shoppers are materially more valuable, claiming they spend 2.5x more than single-channel shoppers and “up to 73% more” when engaging across multiple touchpoints.

On performance marketing, Meta is positioning its AI-led tools as a direct lever for offline outcomes. The paper and accompanying release claim Indian retailers using Omnichannel Optimisation have seen a 4x+ omnichannel ROAS lift. 

It also claims integrated data strategies have driven up to 15% revenue growth, while linking in-store sales to Meta advertising via Conversions API can deliver 2x–5x+ ROAS uplift and up to 9x incremental sales growth, varying by category and market.

Creators are pitched not just as a brand lever but as a performance lever too. Meta-RAI claim retail brands using Reels and creators are seeing 71% higher brand intent lift and 19% lower acquisition costs. Another claim: 71% of consumers purchase within a couple of days after seeing creator content on Meta technologies.

WhatsApp is framed as the next conversion layer. The paper says the platform is evolving into a “commerce engine” that can connect discovery, purchase and post-purchase support in one thread. 

It claims 72% of product discovery happens on WhatsApp and says retailers using Business Messaging and Click-to-WhatsApp campaigns are seeing a 61% average improvement in ROAS, a 62% increase in leads, and 22% higher order values. It also states that 59% of WhatsApp users are likely to visit a store after receiving an offer on WhatsApp.

The whitepaper includes perspectives from large retailers. Reliance Digital’s senior leadership says it has adopted a Reels-forward strategy and is leaning on regional creators to drive engagement and “measurable impact”. 

Croma’s CMO says Meta’s AI-powered solutions have elevated its omnichannel approach by integrating offline data and activating performance marketing across touchpoints, with an emphasis on incremental footfall and revenue impact.

But the fine print matters. The report is a joint publication with a platform company that sells the tools being recommended.

Meta and RAI’s most strategic push is measurement. The paper urges retailers to move beyond last-click attribution and adopt incrementality-first approaches such as test-and-control experiments and modern MMM frameworks. 

That direction is hard to argue with. The real question is execution: how many retailers can consistently connect clean offline data, maintain governance, and validate “incremental” claims across platforms and vendors.