The haul consists of sharing your new purchases with your subscribers. On content-sharing platforms, including TikTok and YouTube, this word is everywhere, whether in hashtags or descriptions. The principle is the favorite of fast-fashion brands.
What is a haul on YouTube and TikTok?
Young women opening large parcels or showing the contents of their shopping bags to pop music, while commenting on their purchases: you have just watched a haul.
If the haul already existed on Youtube, the practice exploded on TikTok. Videos with the hashtag #haul on the Chinese social network have been viewed 47 billion times.
Why do we say “haul”?
In English, the term “haul” can mean a catch, a booty, a bit like when you arrive home with your arms full of new clothes.
How do you spell “haul”?
This type of video is therefore written “haul”, the same spelling as that of the word in English.
// Source: YouTube
Here is how TikTok presents the haul: “ Any excuse is good to do a haul! A fashion crush, an upgrade of your gaming equipment or even your latest favorite kitchen utensils: show us your latest purchases and share your good tips with your community. It is thus possible to make a haul of clothes, make-up, decorative items purchased for your new apartment, or even prepared meals.
The important thing is above all the effect of novelty and the fact of unpacking the product by describing it. Some influencers base their YouTube channel or TikTok account almost exclusively on hauls, like MissouMakeup or Chyna Solder.
The haul benefits fast-fashion brands
In the majority of cases, content creators who haul are buying new products. Inevitably, this practice encourages consumption. Most of the brands highlighted are those of fast-fashion: Zara, H&M, Bohoo, but above all the essential Shein. Attractive prices and a strategy based on constantly renewed models have made the Chinese giant popular with Gen Z. The proof: the hashtag #sheinhaul has more than 11 billion views on TikTok.
For these companies, hauls are real free publicity and allow them to extend their influence. By using the hashtag #sheinpartner, we see that hundreds of influencers are promoting the brand through a haul, whether in English, Portuguese, Spanish or Japanese. They also offer promo codes on the website. Were they paid for by the brand? Were they sent products for free? It’s hard to tell every time because the partnership is rarely mentioned in the description.
This promotion of brand new products is often done without questioning the disastrous ecological impact of fast-fashion and the working conditions of employees. In one of her TikTok videos, American Emily Fauver tries on Shein clothes with her very young daughter for the arrival of spring, simply making her say: “ My dress is from Shein, my shirt is from Shein. »
Despite everything, Shein’s massive communication is beginning to be criticized. In June 2023, social networks ignited when 6 American influencers were invited by the brand to visit their innovation center in China, to praise impeccable working conditions. Since then, Internet users have parodied them. Some imitate the hauls by using the same codes, sometimes ironically about the poor quality of the clothes.
Subscribe for free to Artificials, our AI newsletter, designed by AIs, verified by Numerama!