INFLUENCER EFFECT

With social media platforms and their influencers rising in popularity, consumer culture is changing. How does this affect the way BVN students shop?

By Anna Sandage

Consumer culture is changing in an era where Instagram dictates fashion and TikTok controls fads. Phrases like ‘I use this product everyday’ and ‘this item changed my life’ have gained credibility as a result of social media. Influencers’ recommendations have changed the way students shop and which products they purchase.

According to senior Maia Sol, one of the most popular types of products selling out due to “TikTokers” are beauty tools. Whether it’s blush sticks or hair oils, Sol said social media has changed the way consumers approach beauty products.

“[TikTok influencers] give me inspiration makeup-wise,” Sol said. “Their videos make me want to buy products so that I am able to try new things.”

It’s not just influencers’ opinions that persuade people to buy certain products. According to junior SJ Squire, the way products look on influencers causes consumers to want to recreate those looks.

As stated by junior Asher Ginden, oftentimes other influencers, such as athletes, will persuade fans to make purchases.

Teenagers’ mindsets are very trendy, so people will kind of go out of the way of what they actually like in order to fit in.

“I buy the products because they look good on the person using it,” Squire said. “[When I see that] I think, ‘Maybe I could do that or add that to my makeup routine.’”

This phenomenon doesn’t just include the beauty industry.

Trend Setters

“[Trent McDuffie, cornerback for the KC Chiefs,] did a promotion where he got his Nike Dunks turned into cleats for a game to support cancer awareness,” Ginden said. “I saw them and was like, ‘I don’t play football but I still want that pair of shoes,’ so I got online and bought them.”

There are two main ways influencers increase a product’s popularity: they recommend it on their own behalf or are paid to make a post highlighting a certain product. According to Squire, she is more likely to purchase a product when she knows the influencer genuinely likes it rather than being paid to showcase it.

“You can obviously tell when it is a paid promotion, so I don’t necessarily buy from those posts,” Squire said. “I would rather buy from an influencer actually saying they like the product. [Paid promotions] could be fake since they are being paid to review.”

These influencers have such a grasp on their supporters that their recommendations go a long way. According to Ginden, this is because of the notoriety and star status of influencers.

“People want the cool thing that is going around,” Ginden said. “For example, if all these famous singers are buying the same brand of jacket, that jacket is naturally going to be popular because people are like, ‘OMG Harry Styles is wearing that, I want that,’ and then it’s sold out.”

Once a product is suggested and posted about on social media by popular influencers, it becomes a hot commodity. As Squire mentioned, once an influencer reveals they like a product, it becomes hard to find.

“Everything is sold out, especially in the makeup sections,” Squire said. “If one person posts about it, then other people like it, so then they will post about it, so everyone wants to get it and it is sold out.”

According to Ginden, influencers have changed the way people shop. This can be attributed to the fact that people nowadays are easily influenced and willing to spend extra money if it means they are “on trend” with their favorite influencers.

“An influencer is someone whom you don’t necessarily want to be, but you want to be like them,” Ginden said. “Teenagers’ mindsets are very trendy, so people will kind of go out of the way of what they actually like in order to fit in.”

To shop more trending products, scan here.