What The Future Of TikTok Means For Retail

When e.l.f. Cosmetics decided last year to experiment with TikTok, the beauty brand went in without preconceived notions around how the platform was going to work for the company, Gayitri Budhraja, vice president of brand at e.l.f. Cosmetics, said.  Before the company had a formal presence on TikTok, the e.l.f. Cosmetics hashtag had 3 million organic views on the platform, a sign that a community of users would be interested in the brand, Budhraja said. When the brand launched its Eyes Lips Face campaign last October, it did so with the hope of reaching a billion views, a milestone the company exceeded within three days, Budhraja said.  “The idea of hitting something in the billions — I’ve only seen that in this platform,” Budhraja said. “When I think about uniqueness within TikTok, there’s a high concentration of Gen Zers that have this insatiable desire for inspirational, entertaining content. And if you give them those ways to engage with your brand, you’re going to get visibility … in a way that I’ve never seen on any other platform.” But as retailers and brands like e.l.f. Cosmetics experiment with the growing Chinese-owned platform, President Donald Trump issued an executive order on Aug. 6 banning TikTok if the platform isn’t acquired by a U.S. company. In response, the social network filed a lawsuit in federal court challenging the executive order. Read more at Retail Dive.