Modern Retail+ Research Briefing: Despite threats of a ban, most U.S. users aren’t changing their TikTok habits
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In this edition, we share focal points from a recently released report about how, despite fears of a ban, most U.S. consumers are still using TikTok.
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Modern Retail x Attest Research: Despite threats of a ban, most U.S. users aren’t changing their TikTok habits
The future of TikTok has been somewhat in limbo. Earlier this year, lawmakers began proposing bills that would ban its use in the U.S. over allegations that TikTok shared user data with the Chinese government. While much of this fervor has died down, lawmakers are still introducing new legislation that takes aim at overseas platforms like TikTok. But new research from Modern Retail and consumer research platform Attest shows that, even with these moves, most people are still using the platform. Nearly half of the respondents to a recent survey of 1,000 U.S. consumers said they use TikTok either “frequently” or “very frequently.”
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Key findings:
- While lawmakers have reservations about the way the company handles U.S. data, consumption of TikTok hasn’t shifted. Fifty percent of the respondents said their TikTok usage hasn’t changed over the last six months in light of the proposed ban.
- What’s more, most everyday people don’t appear to be as concerned as legislators. Almost one third (32%) of the respondents said that their TikTok usage has actually increased over the last six months.
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Modern Retail x Attest Research: U.S. users aren’t convinced Pinterest is a shopping app
Nearly every social platform is trying to stake its claim as not just a digital destination to mindlessly scroll, but one that leads to conversions. TikTok, for example, has been expanding its e-commerce presence for many months and even Meta is starting to have brands transact purchases inside its own app rather than linking to brands’ DTC websites.
But recent numbers show that there’s still a long way to go for U.S. social media users to use the platforms for purchases. And that’s especially true for Pinterest, according to a recent survey from Modern Retail and consumer research platform Attest, which asked 1,000 U.S. consumers about their social media and shopping patterns.
Key findings:
- When it comes to shopping on Pinterest, 44% of respondents said they never buy items via Pinterest and 27% said they do so either infrequently or very infrequently.
- Over one-third of respondents (35%) said they never use Pinterest at all. And, only a little over one-quarter (27%) said they used it either frequently or very frequently.
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