TikTok Users Crave Entertainment, Unboxing Videos and Luxury Experiences

July 27, 2021

TikTok users are 92 percent more likely to buy Louis Vuitton products, and 81 percent more likely to buy Versace, than the average internet user.

But to fully capitalize on the short-form video app, fashion brands had better be prepared to entertain people, to participate in trends, and to engage the right content creators who can connect with millions of followers in a way that no brand can.

Those are among the findings of a new report unveiled Tuesday and prepared jointly by TikTok and data research and insights company Launchmetrics. Titled “TikTok’s Takeover: The Power of Creators & Content in 2021,” it notes that 68 percent of users on the platform have been inspired to find out more about a brand or product.

“By leveraging popular trends on TikTok, brands can boost engagement, expand reach and showcase some creativity and personality,” according to the report.

Launchmetrics gathered data on TikTok between Jan. 1 and May 31 and found that creators like Dixie D’Amelio, Noah Beck, Xenia Adonts and Nava Rose are driving 72 percent of the app’s share of voice, far outpacing the share of voice of brands, celebrities, partners and media.

Tapping into trends is key, as 61 percent of TikTok users say they like brands better when they create or participate in a trend. Three out of four users say entertainment is the main reason for using the app.

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While hardly a new idea, unboxing ranks as a key trend as these videos have generated some 12.6 billion views. Similarly, “showcasing” either luxurious products or homes is a popular video subject, with videos carrying the #designer hashtag generating 2.8 billion video views and 67 percent of TikTok users saying they have found ideas about new products or brands after seeing them on the platform.

To wit: #tiktokmademebuyit is one of the top-performing hashtags on the platform, Kristina Karassoulis, head of luxury partnerships at TikTok, noted during a press conference held over Zoom.

Luxury experience videos — often about vacations or other “first-class” experiences — are extremely popular, while product tips and tricks have generated 10.6 billion video views with the hashtag #hacks. The top post in the latter vein, on Fashion Nova’s page, depicts nine ways to wear a string bikini top.

But the real “golden ticket” for fashion and luxury brands is to hook up with a top creator, whose challenges, trends, skits or memes tickle TikTok’s Gen Z user base.

“Creators are your new supermodels, but they’re relatable,” Karassoulis said. “I learned more about the Chanel Boy bag on TikTok than from Chanel.”

The study includes snapshots of 10 creators, including D’Amelio, whose affiliation with Valentino has won the Roman fashion house plenty of attention. According to Launchmetrics’ tallies, the Media Impact Value of her posts came to an average of $626,700 over the five-month period.

Beck, who initially rose to fame as D’Amelio’s boyfriend, boasts 29.2 million followers and boasted an average MIV per post of $208,100. One for Ralph Lauren depicted him spritzing on a fragrance after showering and then becoming magically dressed in the all-American brand.

“By collaborating with a young and fun creator such as Noah Beck, brands have the opportunity to leverage his impressive following as well as associate with his fun and positive attitude and authentic voice,” the report contends.

Wisdom Kaye made his mark this year with the #FrontRowChallenge trend, in which he showed off what he would wear at top designer fashion shows. He received 1.5 million likes and $355,000 in MIV with his video plugging brands including Prada, Gucci, Rick Owens and Saint Laurent.

As part of the study, Launchmetrics quizzed about 100 people working in fashion and beauty p.r., marketing and communications and found that 68.8 percent of them invest in TikTok to engage with consumer groups, while 25 percent said the main driver was to be on trend.

There were detractors: 22.2 percent said budget constraints prevented them from engaging creators on the platform, while one third did not due to a lack of proper tools to identify and manage creator relationships.

Among challenges, 6.2 percent of professionals said they had difficulty demonstrating the value of creator campaigns to C-level executives within their company, and 25 percent cited difficulty creating and tracking the right KPIs to assess the performance of creators.

Some 69 percent of fashion professionals said they prefer to work with so-called “micro creators,” with followings of between 10,000 and 100,000, while half of them select creators based on content quality.

Most brands measure the effectiveness of such campaigns by the impact on sales and web traffic.

TikTok boasts about 100 million monthly active users in the U.S. and another 100 million in Europe, according to Launchmetrics.