Buying Beauty Products on TikTok Shop: Is it Worth the Hype?
Image Courtesy: PhillyVoice
If you’ve been on TikTok over the past year, you’ve probably seen the rise of the TikTok Shop. Every couple of swipes is someone promoting or talking about the TikTok shop on my “For You” page. With this increase in TikTok Shop content, I started researching what this online platform is all about—whether it was a Shein 2.0 or if it could truly stand on its own. TikTok Shop is a place where brands can sell products on the app. On top of that, content creators can promote these products and make money from associating themselves with these brands. Not only does TikTok Shop have a wide variety of products, but these products come with major discounts and free shipping to a lot of locations. Heavy promotion of these low prices has truly blown up the TikTok Shop, but does the product quality diminish as a result of these discounts?
With a cultural shift to a heavier influencer marketing approach, social media influencers can truly shape the consumer market and what is considered trendy. Since these online figures are getting paid to promote these products, this creates a feedback loop. Businesses and potential customers get to see consumers' reactions and how they are using products. Influencers are encouraged to continue posting reviews and continue getting paid to do so. Thus, a cycle is formed.
Image Courtesy: BossUp Cosmetics
There's been a lot of viral beauty products that have blown up, making consumers itching to add them to their beauty collections. The first thing that comes to mind is a color-changing lip oil from one of the most successful TikTok shops, @Bossupcosmetics. This cosmetic company was created by Aaliyah Arnold, who took the TikTok Shop by storm by becoming an entrepreneur at only 19 years old. Not only is the story behind the company inspiring, but the lip oil itself has been promoted by a multitude of dominating beauty influencers. James Charles even raved about the product in his YouTube video, “Buying a full face of makeup from TikTok Shop” in which he stated he “understands why it's constantly sold out.” BossUp Cosmetics is one of the many small businesses that have been able to prosper as a result of the TikTok Shop. On top of products being sold for lower prices and being easily accessible, the TikTok Shop is proving that it aids in advancing small businesses with quality products.
The TikTok Shop has asserted its place as a very fruitful marketplace where a multitude of new products can be brought to life by online figures. Overall, this new e-commerce space has redefined online shopping and its incorporation into social media platforms. Consumers are constantly being engaged, not just with the social media content itself, but with various products. As TikTok’s platform continues to grow, it truly has the potential to alter how we market beauty products and promote small businesses. So, is it worth the hype? Yes!
Strike Out,
Author: Emily Montarroyos
Editor: Cristina Angee
Tallahassee