From Aerie to Zara, retailers turn viral TikTok videos into sales

When a Lululemon skort went viral on TikTok earlier this summer, 16-year-old Kylie knew she had to get her hands on it.

But by the time she was researching her size on Lululemon’s website, she was already exhausted. The sought-after skort – midi skirt, midi shorts with a two-inch inseam – was also totally purchased at a nearby store in Boulder, Colorado, according to Kylie’s mother.

The teen then leaned on her favorite TikTok influencers, who often post #fashionhauls and #OOTD (outfit of the day), to alert her when the skort goes on sale again. She also closely watched, even during school hours, other hashtags on the social platform, such as “#preppy” and “#closettour”. In the end, Kylie ended up hanging it in a larger size and taking it out for modifications.

“My kids come to me all the time now showing me TikTok videos, pointing at them, saying, ‘I want to buy this’ or ‘I think this is cute for fall,'” said Nicole Leinbach, a Boulder resident who is the mother of 13-year-old Kylie and Claire. “They are definitely looking to TikTok to guide them in what they want.”

It used to be a mall tour with friends, but many teens today are looking for inspiration on TikTok. Attached to their phone, this generation spends an average of 12 hours per week on social media applications. They seek authenticity and individualism, with clothing being a key form of self-expression, but Gen Z’s social habits reveal that they seek advice from other people they trust before they go. engage in a dress or a pair of sneakers.

Thanks to TikTok’s easily searchable hashtags and the power of influencer accounts ranging from a few thousand to millions of followers, viral thrills continue to occur for products like the Lululemon Skort. For Zara, it was a pair of wide-leg denim pants, while Aerie sold a pair of leggings with a single cross-over waist. Ahead of Valentine’s Day, Kate Spade sold in a heart-shaped bag thanks to a popular TikTok video. Envisioning a greater opportunity, retailers are looking for ways to capitalize on these viral moments. And that will likely become an even more important part of business strategies this back to school season.

“TikTok has the ability to go viral much faster than anything we see on Instagram,” said Jessica Ramirez, retail research analyst at Jane Hali & Associates. “For retailers, this is a huge advantage.

In January, TikTok star Barbara Kristoffersen posted a video of her wearing Gap’s iconic dark brown hoodie. It was a vintage find. Gap hadn’t made this style for over a decade.

Fueled by the power of TikTok influencers and their devotees, the brown hoodies began appearing on resale sites for up to $ 300. People who had stored the hoodie in the back of their closet were sharing videos of it pairing it with Louis Vuitton bags and other luxury brands in neutral hues.

Kristoffersen’s post has since racked up nearly 2 million views. And the hashtag “#gaphoodie” has over 6.6 million views – and continues to grow – on TikTok.

Gap noticed the momentum soon after Kristoffersen’s message and started sending her more logo hoodies in different colors. The company also sent out hoodies to a handful of other TikTok users. The retailer’s strategy was to rely heavily on the influencer community, Gap’s chief marketing officer Mary Alderete explained in an interview.

“We have started [a TikTok] counts, but we didn’t rush to post a lot of posts, “she said.” These designers are getting down to it … and they are literally influencing the trends. “

To exploit an even bigger sales opportunity, Gap decided to make a new batch of brown logo hoodies. The product is available for presale and will ship later this fall. The company has also partnered with TikTok to outsource its next color based on user votes.

“I don’t think we ever anticipated the ark logo [hoodie] – it’s a classic of ours – but I don’t think we would have necessarily expected it to take off like this, ”said Alderete. “The bottom line is, you can’t really force it. You have to ride it. “

Once the winning color is selected, the new hoodies will arrive in Gap stores and on its website just in time for back-to-school shopping, Alderete said. Outside of the holidays, it is one of the busiest sales periods of the year.

Gap also expects the new momentum of its bold logo to benefit Gap Teen, a clothing vertical it launched in early 2020 to cater to tweens and teenage girls.

“We have a back-to-school campaign for our kids, but we wanted to do something disruptive for the back-to-school teens,” Alderete said. “And that crowdsourcing job was our teenage approach.”

Teen retailer Aeropostale reflects on a similar viral experience it had with his crop tops.

The hashtag “#tinytops” started exploding on TikTok in early April, and some of Aeropostale’s merchandise was in the mix, alongside American Eagle and Abercrombie & Fitch. The trend refers to crop tops, which have exploded in popularity in recent months, especially among tweens and teens who pair bare shirts with high waisted and looser bottoms.

“It’s very ’90s, Y2K – as the lows get bigger with more volume, that’s when the highs get smaller and smaller,” said Natalie Levy, President and Merchandise Manager at Aeropostale’s parent company, SPARC.

After some TikTok posts started going viral, including one from Lexi Hidalgo, who has over 1.6 million subscribers, people were not only visiting Aeropostale’s website looking for the crop tops, but they also walked into stores to specifically ask employees for “TikTok items,” Lévy said.

The Aéropostale reacted quickly. He now has sections of his stores devoted to clothes that have gone viral on TikTok: crop tops, baggy denim, and oversized sweatpants. These will remain throughout the start of the school year.

“What’s great is we don’t pay for famous influencers or talent… it just happened organically,” Levy added. “We’re really genuine about it.”

Some retailers, however, have taken the approach of harnessing renowned talent directly. Abercrombie & Fitch’s Hollister brand has launched a new clothing line called Social Tourist, in partnership with TikTok superstars Dixie and Charli D’Amelio. Terms of the deal were never disclosed, but Abercrombie said it has a multi-year deal with the sisters, who together have more than 170 million followers.

Letting content flourish organically may be the best approach to reach consumers under the age of 24, according to a Gen Z expert.

Hana Ben-Shabat, founder of consulting and research firm Gen Z Planet, said many young TikTok users prefer to see posts from so-called micro- or nano-influencers, who may be as small as a few hundred. or thousands of followers. They feel like these people, unlike the D’Amelio sisters, are much easier to understand, she said.

“This is a generation that strives for authenticity in everything they do,” said Ben-Shabat, who is also the author of the upcoming book “Gen Z 360: Preparing for the Inevitable Change in Culture, Work, and Commerce “. “Tiktok is a platform that allows you to go out there and be yourself. ‘Be yourself’ is the millennial mantra. There’s no question about it.”

“And what’s the best way to express individuality? Beauty and fashion,” she said.

Across all generations, however, there is clearly a growing uptake of people buying directly from social media apps.

Social commerce sales in the United States are expected to grow 35.8% this year to $ 36.62 billion, according to eMarketer. This would mark a slight deceleration from year-over-year growth of 38.9% in 2020, said eMarketer, when the Covid pandemic kept more people at home and shopping from their phones. . EMarketer defines social commerce as products or services ordered through social networks, such as Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, and TikTok.

The United States lags behind China, which is expected to see social commerce sales eclipse $ 351.65 billion in 2021, according to eMarketer data.

EMarketer does not break down social commerce spending by generation. But it’s worth noting that the use of TikTok among teens continues to grow, compared to other social platforms. TikTok is now the second favorite social media app for teens, according to a survey of 7,000 teens from Feb.19 to March 24 by Piper Sandler. He steals shares from Instagram and Snapchat.

And earlier this month, TikTok announced that over the next few weeks, it will offer all users the ability to create videos that are up to 3 minutes long. This change could make the app even more appealing to influencers and designers who want to share longer content, like longer fashion runs or beauty tutorials.

Forty-one percent of back-to-school shoppers plan to use social media platforms to help them decide what to buy before going back to class, according to a Deloitte survey of 1,200 consumers. This is the highest percentage Deloitte has followed in the six years it has asked this question.

“People are drawn to the idea of ​​another stranger sharing ideas, whether it’s their dress style or just their thoughts,” Leinbach, 43, said of his daughters spending time on TikTok.

“TikTok users don’t want to see brands trying to push something to them. They look to influencers for inspiration,” she added. “They also, in many ways, feel like their own influencers within their smaller networks.”