May 31st, 2023
Can you trust these viral TikTok brands?
TikTok has become a powerful catalyst for trends, propelling products and brands into the mainstream like never before. From quirky gadgets to skincare miracles, the platform has the ability to turn seemingly ordinary items into viral sensations overnight. This rise of viral and creator-endorsed products has further muddied the eCommerce and retail landscape, leading to consumers actively searching for ways to validate their purchasing decisions and determine what is worthy of their hard-earned money.
At Thingtesting, we've been closely monitoring the fascinating intersection between TikTok and the consumer landscape. As a platform dedicated to providing genuine and unbiased reviews, we've seen a significant uptick in traffic on brands and products that gain popularity on TikTok.
The Thingtesting community offers a unique insight into the true performance and value of these viral TikTok products. Spoiler alert: Our data shows that consumers are not falling for the hype on their For You Page, and are seeking out more information to determine whether a brand is trustworthy.
Photos: Birdbuddy, Skims, SpoiledChild, Hismile, Air Up, and Thingtesting reviews
SpoiledChild has a few extremely popular TikToks on their own channel, but the real virality of their TikTok strategy lies in user-generated content reviewing their products, or influencers making creative ads using the products. The company offers a free trial period of their products, which leads to a lot of content about people trying the products for the first time. But according to reviews on Thingtesting, their automatic billing process is confusing and many customers were billed for the autoship products before they received their “free” samples.
Since January 2023, we have seen a 260% increase in traffic to this brand's review page.
Bird Buddy is a product made for social media, and they have many viral user-generated TikToks to show for it. The content that the devices produce is the cute and cheeky fodder that the internet loves. Reviews on Thingtesting are mixed, with users citing supply chain issues, a nonexistent warranty, and abysmal customer service.
Since October 2022, we have seen a 5282% increase in traffic to this brand's review page.
Skims’ TikTok big hits naturally use founder Kim K as the star, but they also have a long tail of raving user-generated reviews that are very popular. The Thingtesting reviews are mostly positive, although some users criticize the quality of Skims considering its price.
Since October 2022, we have seen a 1699% increase in traffic to this brand's review page.
Air Up’s TikTok strategy seems to have a lot of paid ads, paid influencer partnerships, and gifted product. Many of the viral TikToks hype up the water bottle’s scent pods that are supposed to make water taste flavored. Thingtesting reviews complain about leaks, a chemical aftertaste, or that the gimmick doesn’t work at all.
Since March 2023, we have seen a 713% increase in traffic to this brand's review page.
Hismile has had many viral TikToks throughout their time in business, but they recently did a paid partnership with Kim Kardashian that has over 26 million views. It was around this time that Thingtesting started to see an uptick in reviews on the platform, with many reviewers noting that they haven’t seen much of a difference in the whiteness of their teeth.
Since March 29, 2023 when Kim Kardashian's TikTok came out, we have seen a 1393% increase in traffic to this brand's review page.