If versatility had a face, it would be TikTok. Be it as a marketing tool, a place where we discover trends, new music, books, or places to visit, TikTok has all the grounds covered. The manner in which TikTok is manoeuvring the direction in which humanity is travelling is truly remarkable (and scary). TikTok’s résumé keeps lengthening itself and the latest addition to the list of things it is used for is discovering products. And this time around, the news is coming in from South Africa.
The Holiday Season Shopping Report 2023, carried out by Redseer Strategy Consultants in South Africa, has unveiled that TikTok has become the leading digital media channel for product discovery during the holiday season. The report highlights that South Africa’s festive season is eagerly anticipated as a rupture from the routine, with families and friends flocking together for various activities, including gift-giving. As the study demonstrates, TikTok has gained prominence as a digital media platform, with 71% of the adult internet population in the country using it, making it the most influential platform for purchases compared to others. The TikTok community’s organic engagement in discovering new products, sharing recommendations, and discussing purchases has become a global trend with the hashtag ‘#TikTokMadeMeBuyIt’, amassing over 70 billion views.
I saw it, I want it
The individuals leading the trend of discovering what you want to buy on TikTok are of course content creators. It is their world and we are all living it. I have lost track of the number of times I have heard the phrase ‘I found this on TikTok’ with regard to a product that they have purchased. TikTok highlights that during the holiday season, creators have an unbelievable influence on purchases, with nearly 50% of users expressing interest in learning more about a product after seeing it in the creator’s content. Users find that creators who depict real-life situations and share firsthand experiences have a greater impact on inspiring purchase decisions. The platform’s faithful users tend to form communities or circles of influence, known as ‘Toks’ or digital campfires, based on shared interests like #BookTok or #BeautyTok. These communities which have picked quite the traction are very powerful as they engage with brands and each other, facilitating scalable word-of-mouth and fostering trust in peer reviews. It can serve as a great entry point for most products that are looking to reach an audience. If the algorithm aligns the way that the product wants and if it is discovered by the right community, most products will be able to walk the ‘Tok’. The year-end holiday season, as always, is expected to see a surge in retail, domestic travel, gifting, and outdoor activities. As a result, TikTok will play its part as a marketing tool in helping brands make their way into cultural and social phenomena, leveraging the platform’s extensive engagement for real impact on their businesses.
#TikTokMadeMeBuyIt
With the way things are going, it is not surprising that TikTok has become a makeshift search engine, especially for Gen Zers. The trend #TikTokMadeMeBuyIt took the internet by storm. It was considered a watershed moment in the history of buying and selling (mostly buying), where whether you were an avid TikTok user or not, you were reeled into it. As mentioned in Forbes, a few products that were discovered because of this trend are kitchen appliances such as portable spot cleaners for carpets and upholstery, alarm clocks, towel warmers (which were categorised under Luxury TikTok; a merging between interior design and self-care), straw tumblers, and so on and so forth.
To provide a gist, if we consider the ‘Hatch Restore Smart Sound Machine Alarm Clock’, its rise to fame happened on the shoulders of TikTok where what would have been an obsolete item in the market became everyone’s go-to because of the trend. The Hatch Restore is not a typical alarm clock that you see on most nightstands. It takes a gentle approach to waking you up and helping you unwind. Instead of alarms that sound like sirens that summon you to war, the Hatch Restore uses soothing sounds paired with gradual light exposure. The clock can be paired with Hatch’s companion app to customise the morning and nighttime routine. It provides options such as gentle wake-up with incremental exposure to sun-like rays. Even if this product was not the need of the hour, one would buy it because TikTok said so.
There are a few things that can be gauged by TikTok gradually becoming the next big product discovery platform. First and foremost, TikTok is accoladed as the social media app with the highest social media engagement rate per post. This high engagement rate on TikTok presents an opportunity for brands to reach a broader audience and boost awareness and sales. TikTok also has a unique algorithm, which shows content based on user interests and interactions which undoubtedly adds to its success. Unlike Instagram’s ‘Explore’ page, TikTok’s ‘For You’ page is more curated to align with the likes and dislikes of the user. Therefore, discovering new products that are right up your alley of interests becomes a piece of cake. Furthermore, one of its best (and by far, most effective) strategies is the use of hashtags which play a life-altering role in the searching and purchasing decisions of users.
Taking it a step further, in September 2023, TikTok launched TikTok Shop in the US, providing an in-app shopping experience. This feature allows the user to not only discover products but also to directly purchase them from live videos, content on the ‘For You’ page, brand profiles, or a new ‘Shop’ tab. This move was made with the hopes of offering creators additional income streams through commission-based marketing partnerships. TikTok Shop also launched ‘Fulfilled by TikTok’, a program handling logistics for sellers, including storage, packing, and shipping. The platform highlights the convergence of content and commerce, positioning itself as a space where users can seamlessly transition from entertainment to purchase decisions. With TikTok Shop, consumers can complete purchases without exiting the app, catering to the 85% of users who switch apps during their online purchase journeys, according to a study by TikTok and Boston Consulting Group (BCG); a convenient solution for all shopaholics who are too lazy to go in search of products on their own.
(Sandunlekha Ekanayake)