Skincare Routines Go Viral: AI & Social Commerce Crash the Beauty Industry

If TikTok made you buy it, you’re not alone.

Social media has become one of the hottest eCommerce trends in the beauty industry, effectively turning platforms like TikTok and Instagram into the new department store.

In Europe, a whopping 89% of TikTok users have purchased beauty products after seeing them on the platform [source: Statista] .

Scrolling through endless makeup transformations and skincare routines isn’t just entertainment – it’s a direct pipeline to product discovery and impulse buys.

Social commerce strategies in beauty leverage influencers, user-generated content and in-app shopping tools to shorten the distance between seeing a product and buying it.

Got inspired by that 15-second video of a blogger’s smokey eye look? With integrated shopping features, you can often tap and purchase the exact eyeshadow palette on the spot. Brands are leaning into this trend by partnering with creators and encouraging customers to share their looks. The result: products going viral and selling out in days (the power of a TikTok trend is real!).

AI plays a role here too, albeit behind the scenes.

Beauty marketing AI algorithms help brands identify the right influencers and predict trends by analyzing social data.

They can gauge which lipstick shade is about to blow up in popularity or which skincare ingredient everyone’s talking about this season. This helps companies stock wisely and craft marketing that rides the social wave. Additionally, some brands use AI to auto-generate captions or analyze the sentiment of comments to understand how campaigns are performing.

We’re also seeing a blending of social experiences with e-commerce on brands’ own sites. Rather than relying only on TikTok or Instagram, beauty brands embed TikTok-like videos and shoppable stories on their websites and apps.

This is huge in Europe, where engagement rates for beauty content are sky-high on socials (beauty influencers see ~1.87% engagement on Instagram, and beauty content on TikTok hits an extraordinary ~7.5% engagement).

Startups like Storyly even offer tech for brands to integrate these social-style videos and personalized polls/quizzes into their own eCommerce platforms.

The idea is to replicate that addictive, interactive experience of social media while you shop for beauty products online.

In Israel, where social media usage is also very high, beauty brands are quick to use these platforms for growth. We can’t forget that user-generated content and peer recommendations drive trust – a friend’s before-and-after post can be more convincing than any glossy ad.

By combining influencer marketing with AI insights (to target the right audience at the right time), beauty companies ensure they show up in your feed with products you actually want.

Shopping has truly become a social activity – one where a mascara can go from unknown to must-have overnight thanks to a few viral videos.

So if you find yourself scrolling #BeautyTok late at night, don’t be surprised if an AI-curated ad for that exact product pops up moments later. It’s not magic, it’s just clever algorithms doing their job!

Looking to leverage social commerce for your beauty brand? Contact us today to get started!