Homelanders Are Buying Viral TikTok Products. NewsWire

NewsWire: 10/23/21

• TikTok has become a powerful purchasing driver for young people. Sales for everything from leggings to cleaning products to feta cheese have soared after going viral on the app. (Associated Press)
• NH: Department stores have always featured “As Seen On TV” sections. There you can buy infomercial favorites like Snuggies and George Foreman grills. 
• Now stores are luring in young consumers with “As Seen On TikTok” sections. Barnes and Noble features a #BookTok display filled with novels recommended by influencers. Amazon offers an “Internet Famous” shopping category. And the nationwide candy chain It’Sugar makes up to 10% of its weekly sales from viral TikTok candy. 
• Many youth-centered brands are yearning to go viral on the app. No one yet knows how TikTok’s algorithm chooses to promote one video over another. To bypass this hurdle, some brands pay already established influencers to promote their products. Influencers are fine with these payoffs, though the practice does tend to undermine the viral authenticity that users find so attractive about TikTok. (See “The Next Generation of Home Shopping.”)
• TikTok is trying to make shopping through the app more accessible. Last month, it began experimenting with videos that can send viewers straight to product websites. And the company has hinted at future changes to allow users to buy products within the app.

Did You Know?

• More Memes, Please. Doomscrolling. Misinformation. Partisan rancor. Insecurities and self-esteem issues. If you’ve been following the news cycle, you might be wondering whether anything positive can come out of spending time on social media. According to a new study from Pennsylvania State University, there is: memes. More than 700 study participants who viewed just three lighthearted memes about the pandemic reported lower stress levels and said that they felt more confident in their ability to cope with the pandemic than the control group, who viewed other media. The memes featured cute animals and humans, with silly captions related to Covid-19. The researchers suggested that memes could be used by public health advocates to reach people during stressful events. Earlier this year, health officials in Baltimore did just that; their series of memes promoting vaccinations went viral. The study also suggested that overall, people might see a mental health boost if they filled their social media feeds with positive or funny content.