Swipe, Like, Shop: How Social Media Influences Our Shopping Behaviour

The Stanley Cup Craze: A TikTok Shopping Spree

Hey COSH! community, let’s dive into the whirlwind of social media consumer behaviour and look deeper into the viral Stanley Cup frenzy witnessed on TikTok. It’s a perfect example of a digital storm turning shopping carts into tidal waves. Social media platforms have revolutionised the landscape of brand-consumer interactions, offering a forum for engagement that’s available 24/7. These digital storefronts bridge the gap between customers and products in a personal, dynamic and accessible manner. This evolution has created a previously unparalleled direct relationship between brands and their audience, making it an essential part of the modern marketplace. However, the breakneck speed of viral trends has all but trampled conscious consumption under a stampede of emotional spending, FOMO and dopamine overload.

The Social Media Effect: Are You Shopping or Being Shopped?

Worldwide, Stanley Cups flooded TikTok feeds while crowds flooded Target stores to snatch up one of the limited edition tumblers, which sold out in minutes. Viewers watched the video of frenzied shoppers over 20 million times, and the hashtag #StanleyTumbler has amassed over one billion views. This has left those on the other side of the screen desperately yearning for their own tumbler.

That’s the power of social media – turning viewers into buyers at lightning speed. According to GlobalWebIndex, 54% of social media users use social media to research products, and 80% are more likely to purchase products and services based on social media referrals. The underlying essence is a quest for connection and belonging, even if it means joining a global craze over a simple beverage container. Essential purchases become a matter of interpretation.

Social media content’s short-lived existence and hunger for newness means the hashtag #watertok is already fueling the next water bottle sensation, which is a paradox. Adopting a stainless-steel water bottle to reduce plastic consumption has become another fleeting trend, defeating sustainable water consumption’s initial motivation.

Following the Crowd

Viral trends often create a domino effect. Seeing others splurge makes us want to join the party. However, before we take out that credit card, let’s pause and put that FOMO in check – do we really need that new pair of sneakers, or could we give some TLC to the ones that have been carrying us through our best and worst of days?

The Algorithm

Our social media behaviour doesn’t go unnoticed. Our views and clicks are traced by algorithms, which optimise and adapt our feeds, creating a subtle but ingenious marketing canvas tailored to our interests and desires whilst feeding off minuscule behaviours such as pausing. Those 5 seconds you lingered longer over a post are transformed into your next wishlist addition. ​“The more you show what you like, the better the algorithm gets (and) the more likely you are to purchase something on an impulse.” (USA Today)

TikTok and Instagram expertly blend entertainment and commerce, a statement TikTok proudly publishes on its website. TikTok describes its retail path as an infinite loop, guided by the user, blending emotions and desire, resulting in continual purchases and greater spending. What reads as a retail success guide also reads as an infinite loop of mindless, impulse-driven purchases that are most likely as unnecessary as they are unsustainable.

While TikTok claims to ​“lift users up through the power of positive feelings, which have an undeniable impact on their purchases and relationships with brands as well”, Instagram speaks of ​“turning communities into customers”. The age of social media has long ago transformed into the age of digital consumption. Whilst social media remains a powerful tool promoting accessibility to valuable information and meaningful interaction, it has parallel opened the floodgates to mindless consumption powered by advertisement budgets and emotional hijacking.

Our desires are just a click away; this illusion has disillusioned a generation. The Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology published a groundbreaking study in 2018 titled ​“No More FOMO: Limiting Social Media Decreases Loneliness and Depression.” The study revealed that diminished social media usage correlates with lower levels of depression and loneliness.

Mindful Spending: Saving You Money, Nerves and Sleepless Nights

Think Before You Swipe

In today’s lightning-speed digital world, the ease of online shopping has transformed the way we make purchasing decisions. The all-too-familiar’ swipe to buy’ feature has made shopping as easy as a flick of the finger, but it’s time to pause and think about what price we’re paying for this convenience.

Adopting a mindful approach in shopping is like choosing timeless style over fleeting fashion trends. It’s about making choices that truly align with planetary and social well-being and not just about reducing unnecessary expenditure. Cultivating a deeper awareness of our consumption habits and their impact on our personal lives and our environment is paramount. Choose purchases that promise to stick around longer than your next social media post.

Budgeting: Your Financial Compass

Set limits, not just on your data usage but also on your spending. TikTok, Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube have made spending sprees an effortless breeze in minutes.

“Consumers can shop the world from the comfort of their homes, with unlimited access twenty-four hours a day”. The purchasing procedure is both simple and distant. After credit card information is provided (typically with the option of storing it for future transactions), all that is necessary is a single ​“click” of a ​“button”.” (USA Today)

Materialism garners the spotlight in carefully staged images and videos, setting the stage for a potent cocktail of toxic emotions, including envy, loneliness, depression and desire. A study published just this month found that “ ​‘materialism’ is one of the crucial reasons for compulsive intention to buy behaviour’. Bolstered by a multitude of existing social media channels and credible product reviews given by ​“real people” and influencers, the probability of racking up an immense credit card bill almost instantly is rising. In the same study, researchers defined that social media usage directly correlates to online purchases and compulsive buying.

Social Media Influencers & Brands: The Responsibility Bearers

The symbiotic relationship between influencers and brands has become a powerful force shaping the market landscape. Influencers do what their name entails: they influence behaviour, a large part of which is centred around consumerism. A match made in heaven for brands, collaborations with influencers have a proven track record of increasing sales. 47% of British adults and 45% of German 16 – 34-year-olds have purchased products promoted by a social media personality.

Celebrity endorsements can either thoughtlessly promote greenwashing and compulsive consumption, such as in Kourtney Kardashian’s highly criticised collaboration with fast fashion giant Boohoo, or offer a nuanced approach to consumerism and product choices. They hold immense power in driving consumer behaviour and defining trends. The call is for thoughtful and conscientious influencing, where endorsements go beyond mere promotion and contribute to a new narrative of responsible consumer choices.

Choices Beyond the Digital Realm

The allure of convenience, social connection and trends on social media beckons with a powerful call. As viewers are seamlessly transformed into consumers, the influence and power of these platforms are undeniable and with great power comes great responsibility. The reality of fleeting hashtags churning out new sensations and desires, particularly in the bizarre case of Stanley Cups, poses new challenges to mindful consumption.

It’s a reminder that, beyond instantaneous gratification, the true impact of our choices extends far beyond the virtual realm. This concept becomes progressively challenging to comprehend in an era where worlds no longer collide but the boundaries between the tangible and the digital blur.