Understanding TikTok’s Influences on Purchasing

Jada Herrera

It’s no secret that TikTok’s popularity has spread globally. As a result, community commerce has increased significantly. If you are unfamiliar with the term community commerce, it simply means the act of selling or promoting products on different social media platforms. The now viral #TikTokMadeMeBuyIt hashtag has gained billons of views on the app and sent millions of people hastily purchasing products. According to Spiralytics, the most commonly bought items from this recent surge of online shopping are skincare and makeup products.

So, how does TikTok influence purchasing? The #TikTokMadeMeBuyIt hashtag goes beyond great marketing efforts and content because psychology plays a significant role in making this phenomenon powerful. Read the following concepts provided by Spiralytics to see the Psychology behind it all:

Love begets love

One of the fundamental principles of social psychology is the reciprocity principle, which states that you give to others what you get from them. In a consumer and business scenario, if a company does something nice for its prospective customers, they will more likely buy from them. However, sometimes, igniting positive feelings is enough for consumers to engage and take up an offer from a seller.

Likewise, TikTok allows its users to be creative and expressive, leading 60% of those people to feel happier. As a result, these users are more inclined to purchase products they see on the app. Moreover, 39% of users tag “lifting spirits” as a critical factor affecting their buying decisions. This finding supports the #TikTokMadeMeBuyIt trend even more since TikTok fosters joy.

Knowledge Gap

The information gap theory shows that you tend to go the extra mile to learn about topics you’re interested in, especially if you currently do not have information about it. For example, if you wanted to know more about home improvements, you would make an effort to read materials or watch videos that could add to your knowledge. Fortunately, 46% of TikTok users see the platform as a place for information.

Likewise, most of these #TikTokMadeMeBuyIt videos are founded on that life hack angle. Creators present them in such a way that viewers pick up a valuable how-to or solution to something. Whether it’s for learning new ideas or rediscovering old ones, TikTok offers a wide variety of data. That’s where marketing campaigns step in. Through engaging clips, content creators can seamlessly market products. Since TikTok videos compel 92% of its users worldwide to purchase or take action, the TikTok made me buy it phenomenon flourishes all the more.

Collective recommendations

The social proof principle explains how and why the #TikTokMadeMeBuyIt trend grew remarkably. According to this theory, you are more likely to believe in products if people you know can attest to them. Beyond positive reviews from strangers online, it’s feedback from your family and friends that will strongly influence your purchasing decision.

TikTok is an avenue for creativity and self-expression. Users engage with each other and share their interests, building the TikTok community. The #TikTokMadeMeBuyIt videos fit right in because they’re usually great finds that lead to solving a problem or making something more manageable. These videos show real-life and universal problems that particular products can help with.

Genuine product reviews and advocacies come off as content that connects with viewers. Other than having an influencer be an ambassador, when people feel a product or brand’s authenticity, they’re more likely to purchase. At the end of the video, the content’s genuineness will promote awareness and lead to the purchase.

As a survey from Matter shows, 82% of individuals purchase, research, or consider buying a product after hearing positive comments from influencers and people they know. Moreover, since TikTok supports self-expression, 79% of users create promotional posts. They either tag a brand, show off consumer-packed goods (CPG), or create a tutorial to engage with more viewers.

As a result, the brand or product gains a better reputation and earns the trust of TikTok users, feeding the #TikTokMadeMeBuyIt craze. Furthermore, 42% of those users persuaded someone they know to purchase CPG from TikTok. 

FOMO

The fear of missing out (FOMO) concept relates to scarcity marketing, implying that the rarer an item is, the more valuable it becomes. Conversely, FOMO also springs from seeing social media posts that could trigger the desire to get something to avoid missing out on an experience. Both situations make anxious consumers want to get their hands on a particular product to relieve FOMO.

Shockingly, 60% of individuals take action within 24 hours to ease FOMO. This report significantly impacted the TikTok made me buy it movement. Similarly, TikTok inspired 67% of its users to purchase a product, driving more sales and hyping other people to join the bandwagon.