How Short-Form Content is Winning Over Consumers and Shaping Retail

Ongoing talks (and deadline extensions) surrounding TikTok's potential U.S. ban continue to keep people on edge. Instagram revealed plans to create a separate app for its popular Reels feature. And Google is now indexing Instagram posts, like Reels or videos, that are relevant to a user's search query.

In short, short-form content's influence can't be ignored.

In fact, 42 percent of consumers gravitate towards short-form video as their preferred form of influencer content, according to GRIN's 2025 Modern Consumer Survey.

This means many industries like retail must take advantage of short-form content. In fact, 75 percent of marketers plan to maintain or increase their investment in short-form video this year.

But why do modern consumers love short-form content?

Why Short-Form Content Works for Retail

A major appeal of short-form content is its length, with one minute to three minutes being the sweet spot. Before, consumers would watch a 30-minute review to decide whether they wanted to buy a product — a crucial step since 91 percent of consumers say seeing real people use products on social media is critical for making purchase decisions, says GRIN research. With short-form content, consumers can get multiple opinions from creators and other consumers in minutes, speeding up their purchase decision.

Brands not leveraging short-form content risk missing out on reaching potential customers. Here are a few ways brands can get the most out of short-form content:

1. Work with creators who genuinely love your brand.

With short-form content, brands must prioritize partnering with creators who genuinely enjoy their products. Consumers today are more savvy and can recognize if a creator is an actual fan of a product or if it's just a cash grab, meaning brands should partner with people who post about and actually enjoy their products. If a creator already loves a brand's product, that love will come through to those who watch their short-form content.

2. Be strategic with different types of content.

Whether building awareness, educating consumers or driving purchases, brands must be strategic with short-form content.

One way brands can bring awareness to a product is by equipping creators with their brand's top-performing search engine optimization keywords. This ensures the creator’s content is optimized for search and ranks in results on Google, TikTok, etc., allowing the brand and the creator's short-form content to show up when consumers search.

Brands should also provide short-form video content that educates consumers about products for when consumers do their research. This is especially important since Pew Research shows that 62 percent of people use TikTok to look at product reviews. For example, soap brand Esponjabon uses short-form content to explain what its bars of soap do and the skin problems a particular bar of soap solves. Esponjabon even shows the before and after of customers' skin, demonstrating the difference when using the brand's products.

Finally, brands must leverage short-form content to get conversions. One way is by providing affiliate codes to influencers. While short-form content reels people in, affiliate codes take them across the purchase finish line. For example, if a brand gifts clothes to an influencer, they could also give that influencer an affiliate code to share with their followers for a discount, encouraging sales. Buddle, a skincare brand formulated for infants, successfully leveraged the affiliate model with a $0.05 cost per click from gifting and affiliates alone, proving its effectiveness as a revenue driver.

Short-form content isn’t a trend; it’s the new standard. As platforms double down on short-form videos and consumers continue to crave quick, relatable content, brands that embrace this shift will stay ahead of the curve. Those that don't risk getting left behind in the scroll.

Olivia McNaughten is the vice president of marketing at GRIN, the world’s first and leading creator management platform.