Pacsun turns to TikTok for livestream shopping

Dive Brief:

• Pacsun is doubling down on digital and social media efforts and relying on microinfluencers, store associates and customers — which the brand calls its Pac Community — as part of its summer 2023 campaign, according to a press release from the retailer.
• Weekly live-selling streams on TikTok will provide behind-the-scenes looks at apparel and exclusive access to events. The livestreams will originate from Pacsun’s stores and other locations, such as music festivals.
• Pacsun is continuing to partner with Roblox, a platform where its Pacsun Los Angeles Tycoon experience has driven 7 million visits in less than 10 weeks. The digital and social push sees the brand putting a premium on authenticity as it continues to leverage emerging channels to engage with young consumers.
  
   

Dive Insight:

This summer, Pacsun plans to continue embracing digital channels and social media to engage with younger shoppers in the virtual spaces where they already spend the most time, like TikTok, where Pacsun has more than 2 million followers — a goal the company set in 2021 and reached last year. The summer campaign is designed to give fans an authentic look into the brand and drive engagements online and in-person.

Central to the push is the roll out of live-selling streams on TikTok that will rely on the brand’s stable of microinfluencers, called the Pac Community. The weekly events will emanate from the brand’s stores in downtown Los Angeles and Fashion Island in Newport Beach, California, as well as from music festivals such as Stagecoach, Governors Ball and Daytrip Long Beach.

Pacsun’s embrace of livestream shopping on TikTok comes as the platform continues to dabble in the technology, even as it has struggled to take off in the U.S. and has been scaled back on Meta’s Facebook and Instagram platforms. Livestream shopping could shorten the sales funnel for consumers on TikTok who want to engage with the brand and its influencers and are ready to shop.

Gaming platform Roblox, a key part of the nascent metaverse, continues to be a focus of Pacsun’s marketing strategy this year. The brand recently released updates of new user-generated content challenges and giveaways on Pacsun Los Angeles Tycoon. Pacsun’s influencers will promote the new challenges early next month.

Pacsun last winter unveiled a holiday campaign titled “PacVerse,” a play on the metaverse meant to celebrate virtual identities that expanded its PacWorld experience on Roblox. Along with its Pac Community of influencers, the brand has also experimented with a virtual influencer for last fall’s back-to-school ads.