How Brands And Retailers Are Reacting To Threads

As of this morning, the new Twitter competitor Threads, created by Facebook and Instagram parent company Meta, has over 60 million registered users. It has only been downloadable for two days.

When any group of 60 million people do the same thing in a 48-hour time period, it’s worth looking into. Threads clearly has traction and potential.

This is important for retailers and brands because social media is critical to reach customers. The question is: what should brands and retailers do about Threads?

So far, the big retailers are reacting more than brands are. Nine out of the top 10 retailers (according to National Retail Federation) have all activated their accounts on Threads with Costco being the only exception.

Of the top five most popular consumer brands (M&M, Band-Aid, Ziploc, Dawn, Reese’s, according to YouGov.com), only Reese’s has activated their Threads account.

Of the ten most popular fashion brands (Gucci, Chanel, Prada, Burberry, Louis Vuitton, Fendi, Dolce & Gabbana, Saint Laurent, Ralph Lauren, Nike
NKE
, according to Google
GOOG
), only one, Nike, has activated their Threads account.

Understanding The Reaction So Far

It’s easy to see why companies are being cautious. Threads is only two days old and no company wants to have the experience on social media that Bud Light and Target
TGT
recently had. Brands are undoubtedly waiting to see what Threads turns into before they commit to it.

Even retailers who are more present on Threads are not posting a lot and waiting to see where consumers land. Walmart has three million followers on Instagram but less than 60 thousand on Threads so far.

In fashion, it’s mostly American brands that are more active on Threads as of this morning but not everyone has joined in. Aside from Nike, major brands like Coach, Abercrombie, Calvin Klein and Michael Kors have activated their accounts but Tommy Hilfiger and Levi’s have not.

The Risk Of It

As a general rule, most brands and retailers want to be second, especially in technology. They want to see someone else jump in and succeed before they commit.

The risk for brands and retailers is that social media becomes even more political than it is already. There is a trend evolving where the medium defines your political views and now that’s extending to social media too. One member of Congress has already said they’re sure Threads is “a Marxist style social media experience” that will be used to “steal elections.”

That stuff is poison for retailers and brands.

The big question is what will happen to social media in the foreseeable future? Will Threads become a threat to Twitter and become the electronic public square they both aspire to be? Will Twitter become a right-wing medium and Threads a left-wing medium? Will Threads fail? No one knows but the uncertainty explains brands’ and retailers’ behavior so far.

If Threads is successful, brands and retailers have to be there. Since Threads is linked to Instagram, a handle can only be used the owner of the Instagram account. Brands may feel they’re not in a hurry to commit to it and are waiting to see how it shakes out. And the July 4th week may have decision-makers moving more slowly.

The next few weeks will give some direction to how Threads shapes up. The worst outcome for brands and retailers is if Threads and Twitter go the opposite way politically and then they’ll have to be on both media.

The best outcome is for outrage and vitriol to simmer down but that seems the least likeliest outcome of all. After only 48 hours it seems clear that Threads has high potential to threaten Twitter’s market position and that may mean changes to brands’ and retailers’ marketing channels and strategies.