TikTok Provides New Holiday Shopping Trends Insights to Assist with Campaign Planning

Does your Christmas marketing strategy include TikTok?

For many young customers, the fast-growing video platform has become the place to be, and it is progressively driving the current trends, which include products and consumer behavior. Indeed, TikTok claims that 80 percent of its users who purchased something on Black Friday last year said TikTok had a factor in their decision, with 40 percent saying they bought something after viewing the exact item on TikTok.

The findings, which are contained in TikTok's latest research report, are both significant and unsurprising, given that TikTok has become a larger part of the social media environment, as well as popular culture in general, over the course of the pandemic.

Will it have an even greater impact on customer behavior during the holiday shopping season of 2021?

It appears to be a safe bet that it will have an effect. TikTok has given some crucial trend notes to integrate into your planning to assist marketers to prepare for this.

First and foremost, according to TikTok, brands must begin early to engage customers before the Black Friday buying surge.

Last year, internet sellers spread the sale out over several weeks, starting early and continuing for a longer period. The #blackfriday hashtag tripled in popularity in the second week of October, peaked on Black Friday, and stayed quite high until right before Christmas. However, platforms often advise that you should start earlier and spend more on their ads to get the most out of them. This may seem like self-serving advice, but the data shows that engagement around major shopping events is peaking earlier, and will likely peak even earlier this year, given the rise of eCommerce and growing anticipation for the season, now that many will be able to reconnect with friends and family again.

TikTok also provides information on the products that have had the most engagement on the platform this year, which reveals that clothing is a major priority. No more sweatpants and t-shirts - now that you'll have to leave the house again, you'll probably need to replace some of your old, holey, around-the-house staples, while the general excitement surrounding a return to social gatherings has led to many people stocking up on gifts to give out at Christmas.

It's worth noting TikTok's expanding impact in this regard; as it tries to integrate additional eCommerce and promotional possibilities, it appears probable that the platform will continue to play a significant part in shaping consumer behavior in the future, at least for the foreseeable future. As a result, it may be worthwhile to spend some time in the app investigating brands in your industry and how they use them. TikTok has also supplied several case studies for you to consider, and you may also look at TikTok's ad display for extra inspiration.