"If You Don't Buy It Now, You'll Miss Out"... What Really Happens? Dopamine-Driven Consumption in Korea [How We Shop Now]

Hot Picks and Recommended Items Go Viral in Short-Form Content on Social Media

Scarcity, Value-for-Money, and FOMO Fuel Dopamine-Driven Purchases

Retailers Go All-In on "Algorithm Marketing" for Survival

Editor's NoteWhat are people buying these days? From everyday essentials that are must-buys at Daiso, to cosmetics at Olive Young that constantly sell out, and even bread that people line up for—today’s market trends are vividly reflected in these familiar scenes of consumption. “How We Shop Now” is a series that interprets current consumer trends through the lens of top-selling items in daily life. It explores what kinds of products are chosen and which strategies persuade people to open their wallets—making sense of changes at the point of sale in a simple and engaging way.

An image generated by artificial intelligence (AI) to aid in the understanding of the article. Gemini

"If you spot this, just buy it!", "Products even doctors stock up on", "You need to hurry now..."

On Friday, the 31st, in the afternoon, every customer visiting an Olive Young store in central Seoul held a smartphone in hand. On their screens, 15-second short-form videos scrolled by quickly, with captions like “summer must-haves” and “life-changing recommendations.” As these short videos become a new standard for consumption, it is becoming a reality that algorithms are now determining sales figures.

"I bought it because a YouTuber recommended it"…Short-form videos are changing the in-store experience

"I came to buy this right away because beauty YouTuber XX unnie recommended it."

On this day, a 22-year-old university student surnamed Kim, who visited an Olive Young store in Seoul, said this to a store employee while searching for a specific product. Kim laughed, saying, "The video said ‘buy it before it sells out,’ so I felt even more urgency." In reality, the product Kim was searching for was already sold out in the store.

The screen Kim showed was a 15-second YouTube Shorts video titled "Olive Young Sale Must-Buy Recommendations," which had garnered millions of views. Kim added, “These days, I catch trends through short-form videos first. Since they intuitively show the real color, texture, and how to use the product, I just add whatever I see in the video straight to my cart without hesitation.”

Thumbnail of a YouTube Shorts video recommending Daiso products. Screenshot from YouTube.

"Buying things I don't even need"—Discovery-based consumption and the dopamine/FOMO effect

Experts interpret this as the proliferation of ‘discovery-based consumption.’ Rather than searching for what they already need, consumers now develop desire to buy simply through exposure to content.

Short-form videos pack product demonstrations, benefits, and prices into compressed snapshots, quickly prompting purchase decisions. Especially among Millennials & Gen Z, the trend of trusting “recommendations” over “search results” is becoming more pronounced.

Experts attribute this phenomenon both to dopamine stimulation and the fear of missing out (FOMO). A rapid-fire, visually compelling video delivers immediate stimulus; the messages “affordable yet effective” and “buy it now or miss out” enhance the sense of urgency, leading to faster purchases. As a result, consumer behavior is shifting from a needs-based response toward stimulus—and this tendency is even more pronounced with lower-priced goods.

The 'sold-out crisis' engineered by algorithms

The retail industry is already feeling the effects of this change. A staff member at an Olive Young store in Seoul said, “When a product goes viral on social media, we sometimes see sales explode in just a single day. Particularly, products spotlighted in short videos for their ‘value for money’ or ‘instant effects’ sell out at lightning speed.”

YouTube Shorts video thumbnail recommending Olive Young products. YouTube capture.

The situation is similar at household goods retailer Daiso. An employee at one location explained, "In the past, customers would browse and look for items around the store, but these days, more than half of our customers show us screenshots of short-form videos on their smartphones and ask where the products are. For items like trendy storage containers or beauty accessories that make a splash on short-form platforms, they're often sold out within a day of arriving in stock."

The retail war for 'algorithm optimization'

In response, companies are shifting their strategies, with a strong focus on developing products that can quickly go viral on short-form platforms. Features like clear effects, visually distinctive textures, or standout elements that can be easily captured in a short video, have emerged as key competitive factors.

Instagram content recommending Daiso products. Instagram capture

An industry representative noted, “No matter how good a product is, if it doesn’t catch the short-form algorithm, it’s very difficult for it to gain widespread popularity these days. The competition for ‘algorithm marketing’—where strong, visually appealing content convinces consumers to open their wallets—will only intensify going forward.”

Impulse buying vs. a new form of rationality

An image generated by artificial intelligence (AI) to aid in understanding the article. ChatGPT

Some critics warn that this new consumption method encourages impulsive purchases, with content repeatedly exposed over a short period excessively stimulating the desire to buy. However, others argue that a high view count and large numbers of user reviews offer a kind of verification, making short-form consumption a new, fast, and rational approach to decision-making.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.