The Tik Tok ban is looming. And users have a couple of routes to go. While most analysts are putting bets on the stock market with Meta and Youtube as benefactors (Meta stands from a $19 billion boost in ad revenue this year from the ban), actual Tik Tok users have a slightly different story.
Calling themselves the #TikTokRefugees, millions of Tik Tok users flocked to RED (Little Red Book/Xiaohongshu).
We saw RED (Little Red Book/Xiaohongshu) surge to the number one spot in the App store alongside Lemon 8, both products that I had written extensively about in my book.

RED is basically Chinese instagram with a bit more of an authentic touch. Because Chinese users like to operate in anonymity versus the Instagram world operates with real people with real names, RED is also a little similar to Reddit in that it is a true community that emphasizes authenticity versus the Instagram world that highlights someone's best moments.
I do know that western users who have Chinese friends or those who are sinophiles were very aware of this app and had used it sparingly for food or product recommendations. What had stopped the app from growing in popularity was the app is in Chinese; RED had also never intended to go after the purely western user, though they have made significant investments in catering to the Chinese diaspora user in creating HongMall, allowing Chinese users who live overseas to buy Chinese made products. HongMall was RED's route into ecommerce.
The onslaught of a huge number of western users into the app and the temporary stickiness is that they want to find a place to bond and form a community. Since last Friday, it looks like the ban will happen, so over the weekend, these users acted in preventative measures of migration. What's humorous is the response from Chinese users, who are a group of people who were naturally curious about Americans and foreigners. I think this meeting of two very different cultures will sustain a short spurt of interest and activity. As for how long these TikTokRefugees will stay on the app is hard to say.
I definitely don't think it's the next Tik Tok nor the next Temu. I think ecommerce might be secondary in RED's executives' minds right now. I think what might be primary is how they will adjust the feed to sustain enough English content (that is not about Tik Tok refugees) to sustain this new surge in users.Â

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