Virtual influencers — computer-generated “models” used by labels like Calvin Klein and Prada — may not be real, but brands say they have “real business potential.” According to Business Insider Intelligence, as much as $15 billion will be spent on influencer marketing by 2022, almost double 2019’s $8 billion, and Bloomberg reports a growing share will go to the creators of virtual influencers like Lil Mikaela and Seraphine. Meanwhile, flesh-and-blood U.S. influencers are following their Chinese counterparts’ lead and livestreaming their own shopping channels as tech heavyweights Google, Amazon and Facebook launch their respective “modern twist on QVC.”
