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From scroll to scale: How social-first trends are rewriting retail rules
As viral products move from TikTok feeds to real-world demand overnight, platforms and retailers are being forced to rethink speed, sourcing and consumer engagement
- PUBLISHED: Fri 8 May 2026, 1:52 PM
- By:
- Prashant Talwar
Not long ago, retail trends moved at a predictable pace. Seasonal launches, planned campaigns, and long lead times dictated what consumers bought and when. Today, a single TikTok video can trigger overnight demand for a product most people didn’t know existed 24 hours earlier.
Social-first trends like Labubu, FIX Dessert Chocolatier, Frukti Mango Ice Cream, and, more recently, NeeDoh toys and Squishy Dumplings don’t just move faster than traditional retail trends; they operate on an entirely different logic. One driven by algorithms, visual hooks, ASMR sound effects, perceived scarcity, and instant gratification. For platforms and retailers, the question is no longer whether these moments matter, but whether they are structurally ready to respond when they hit.
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Scroll. Discover. Order.
Shopping no longer starts with a need; it often starts with inspiration.
Short-form video platforms like TikTok and Instagram Reels don’t wait for a need to be articulated. They surface products before intent exists, triggering desire through recommendation rather than conscious search. The purchase journey is no longer linear; it’s emotional, visual, and immediate.
This shift fundamentally changes the role of on-demand retail. When inspiration and impulse are compressed into the same moment, availability and speed of delivery become the value proposition, particularly during viral moments.
The result? A different way of thinking about selection within our grocery, retail, and food verticals. Rather than curating a fixed range built around predictable demand, we focus on a portfolio that can flex quickly in response to what people are discovering in real time. Our offering is designed to continuously evolve with cultural moments, social-first trends, and changing consumption behaviours, reflecting how people actually shop today, not how they used to.
How platforms capture viral demand
In a viral cycle, consumers aren’t pausing to compare brands, they’re racing each other to get their hands on the trending item before it sells out. Scarcity and social buzz create a sense of urgency that turns discovery into competition, where speed often matters more than loyalty.
When a product starts trending, the dominant question isn’t “Which brand do I trust?” but “Can I get it now?”, “How can I get an authentic piece?”, and “How can I get it delivered to where I am?” Delay introduces friction, and friction kills conversion.
That’s why platforms capable of moving quickly, surfacing the right products, onboarding the right partners, and fulfilling demand at speed disproportionately capture value and consumer trust in these moments.
We’ve seen this play out when we onboarded products like FIX Dessert Chocolatier, Labubu collectables, and Frukti Mango Ice Cream. These products scaled because the ecosystem, creators, consumers, platforms, and supply, aligned quickly enough, and our delivery infrastructure was ready to convert attention into transactions.
What platform readiness really means
Over the past few years, we’ve seen social-first products trigger sudden and highly concentrated bursts of demand on our platform, often spreading rapidly across different consumer segments. These viral moments create sharp spikes in in-app usage and delivery demand that test how quickly platforms can respond.
Platform readiness today means having the infrastructure to absorb extreme surges in order volume while maintaining a seamless experience from discovery and checkout through to reliable delivery.
The most resilient models are those where digital discovery is followed by fast and tight coordination across commercial, operations, sales and technology teams, alongside strong alignment with brands on availability - narrowing the gap between when a product is seen and when it can be delivered. The smaller that gap, the greater the opportunity to convert interest into trust.
Retail is witnessing a powerful evolution from ‘search and find’ toward ‘scroll and discover.’ When a product goes viral, consumers aren't just making a purchase; they are participating in a cultural moment with a fleeting shelf life. To lead in this high-velocity space, we treat social listening as a predictive tool, identifying high-signal trends before they hit the mainstream. By pairing that foresight with agile global sourcing, we’ve built a platform that moves at the speed of culture; ensuring that when inspiration hits a user’s feed, the infrastructure is already in place to turn viral discovery into a delivered reality.
Turning hype into durable growth
Viral moments don’t have to be one-off wins. When treated as data signals rather than anomalies, they offer insight into emerging behaviours, categories, and consumer motivations. At Deliveroo, we spot these trends not only through social listening tools and media channels, but also through the conversations happening across our teams, employees sharing what they’re seeing, tasting, or experiencing themselves. These everyday observations often flag emerging favourites, from local treats to niche products, well before they hit wider attention.
The platforms and retailers that will win next are those investing in flexible onboarding models, real-time trend detection, modular infrastructure, and closer integration with partners’ supply chains. In a trend-driven economy, adaptability is no longer a competitive advantage; it’s an expectation.
As for whether viral-led retail will accelerate or stabilise, the answer is both. Individual trends will come and go, but the underlying behaviour, discovery-led, socially influenced, gratification-driven commerce, is here to stay.
The scroll isn’t slowing down. The only question is who’s ready when it turns into demand.
— Prashant Talwar is Director of New Verticals at Deliveroo.