The Relationship Between Retail Apparel Stock Returns and Influencer Marketing

Date of Award

Fall 12-2025

Degree Name

Bachelor of Science (BS)

Advisor(s)

Lin Tong

Abstract

This thesis aims to analyze the relationship between digital marketing disclosures of apparel, footwear, and luxury goods companies and financial and market performance. Using a list of over 50 tickers, I scraped 10-Q filings from 2019 through 2024 for firm disclosure data. The study combines financial information from Compustat and CRSP with a Python program-collected indicator capturing the presence of digital marketing language in regulatory filings.

I centered my study around firm usage of influencer and digital marketing because these strategies represent a shift from traditional advertising. When a brand launches an influencer marketing campaign, it relies on third-parties to "sell" the product, influencing consumer trust and brand perception. The rising popularity of influencer marketing means companies are changing how they allocate their marketing dollars. For apparel, footwear, and luxury goods companies, partnerships with influencers may be especially beneficial for revenues and investor sentiment. As influencer marketing becomes increasingly popular, understanding whether and how its disclosure correlates with financial and market performance is crucial for understanding its effectiveness.

Using regression analyses, this study examines the relationship between digital marketing mentions and three performance metrics: quarterly stock returns, revenue, and net income, while controlling for firm size and exchange listing through market capitalization and exchange dummies. The results indicate that firms disclosing influencer or digital marketing activity tend to achieve higher stock returns and operating performance, as measured by revenue and net income.

These findings suggest that influencer and digital marketing language may serve as meaningful signals to investors, reflecting broader engagement with modern digital channels. By shifting the focus from traditional advertising expenditures to firm-disclosed digital marketing activity, this study contributes to the literature on marketing, investor sentiment, and firm performance. It provides insight into how contemporary marketing strategies are related to both market outcomes and firm fundamentals.

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