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As the busiest shopping season of the year begins, TikTok has become a primary destination for <a href="https://shoppixy.com/koreas-fss-to-give-ccos-veto-on-insurance-product-reviews/" title="Korea’s FSS to give CCOs veto on insurance <a href="https://shoppixy.com/people-trust-authenticity-and-track-record-for-product-reviews/” title=”People trust authenticity and track record for product reviews”>product reviews“>product reviews and recommendations. This trend is particularly prominent among young women who frequent the platform, according to a Pew Research Center survey conducted in March.
Pew Research Center performed this analysis to determine who utilizes TikTok for product reviews and recommendations. These questions were part of a broader study examining the perspectives and habits of users on TikTok, X, Facebook and Instagram. For this report, researchers surveyed 10,287 adult internet users in the United States between March 18 and 24, 2024.
Every participant in the survey belongs to the Center’s American Trends Panel (ATP), an online group recruited through a random, national sampling of residential addresses. This method ensures that nearly all U.S. adults have an opportunity to be selected. The survey was weighted by combining the internet user sample with data from ATP members who do not use the internet, ensuring the final dataset represents all U.S. adults across gender, race, ethnicity, partisan affiliation, education and other demographics. This analysis focuses on those who use the platforms in question.
Here are the questions used for this analysis and the survey methodology.
This is a Pew Research Center analysis from the Pew-Knight Initiative, a research program funded jointly by The Pew Charitable Trusts and the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation.
A majority of U.S. adults who use TikTok (62%) report that they visit the site to browse product reviews or recommendations. This figure includes approximately one-quarter of users who identify this as a major reason for their activity.
Young women stand out in use of TikTok for product reviews
Brands interact with TikTok users in various ways, ranging from digital advertisements to sponsoring influencers to showcase their latest products. As debates regarding a potential nationwide ban on TikTok persist, critics of the proposal contend that such a move could dismantle a multibillion-dollar creator economy.
Younger users—specifically young women—are especially inclined to use the platform for product reviews.
Roughly three-quarters of U.S. TikTok users between the ages of 18 and 29 (74%) state that this is a reason they use the app. This percentage declines to 62% among users aged 30 to 49 and 46% for those 50 and older.
Women on TikTok are more likely than men to report using the platform for product recommendations (68% vs. 52%). The youngest female users are particularly prone to using the site for this purpose:
74% of female TikTok users aged 18 to 49 cite product reviews as a reason for their usage. This includes roughly four-in-ten (37%) who describe it as a major reason.
Women on TikTok between the ages of 18 and 29 are especially likely to use the site for this reason, with 83% saying so.
Among female TikTok users aged 50 and older, 49% say they use the platform for product reviews.
A similar age-based pattern exists among men who use the platform. Men on TikTok aged 18 to 49 are more likely than their counterparts aged 50 and older to use the site for product reviews (56% vs. 42%).
There are no gender-based differences in the percentages of users aged 50 and older who cite this as a reason for their usage.
This Pew Research Center analysis is from the Pew-Knight Initiative, a research program funded jointly by The Pew Charitable Trusts and the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation.
Note: Here are the questions used for this analysis, along with responses, and the survey methodology.
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