🗓️ This Week in The Markets

Macro/Market News
  • According to CNBC, foreclosures increased by more than 20% in October, raising concerns about the US housing market.

  • According to CME FedWatch, the probability of another rate cut in December has decreased from 65% to a coin flip!

  • As the government shutdown ends, the Trump administration has set a new record for the longest government shutdown, at 43 days.

Company Specific News
  • According to the WSJ, Paramount (Ticker: PSKY), Comcast (Ticker: CMCSA), and Netflix (Ticker: NFLX) are preparing bids to buy out Warner Bros. Discovery (Ticker: WBD).

  • Oracle (Ticker: ORCL) has fallen more than 30% from its peak, as doubts begin to rise around the long-term feasibility of its datacenter buildout plan.

  • Waymo (Ticker: GOOG) has become the first robotaxi company to offer autonomous rides on freeways in LA, San Francisco, and Phoenix.

🛒 What the Haul?

Out of 206 TikTok hauls analyzed, these companies appeared the most:

  • Hollister - 20 Appearances (9.7%)

  • Zara - 18 Appearances (8.7%)

  • Victoria's Secret - 15 Appearances (7.3%)

  • Aritzia - 15 Appearances (7.3%)

  • Shein - 15 Appearances (7.3%)

  • Ugg - 14 Appearances (6.8%)

  • H&M - 13 Appearances (6.3%)

  • Garage - 12 Appearances (5.8%)

  • Sephora - 11 Appearances (5.3%)

  • Pacsun - 9 Appearances (4.4%)

  • Aerie - 9 Appearances (4.4%)

  • Target - 8 Appearances (3.9%)

  • Chanel - 7 Appearances (3.4%)

  • Louis Vuitton - 7 Appearances (3.4%)

  • Brandy Melville - 7 Appearances (3.4%)

  • Nike - 7 Appearances (3.4%)

  • Lululemon - 6 Appearances (2.9%)

  • Dior - 6 Appearances (2.9%)

  • Charlotte Tilbury - 5 Appearances (2.4%)

  • Balenciaga - 5 Appearances (2.4%)

  • Rhode - 5 Appearances (2.4%)

  • Hello Kitty - 5 Appearances (2.4%)

  • Free People - 5 Appearances (2.4%)

  • Bershka - 5 Appearances (2.4%)

Key Takeaways

  • Haul share for Hollister (Ticker: ANF) increased substantially this week. We typically see 3-5% of hauls feature Hollister in any given week, but this week, we saw nearly 20% of hauls feature the brand.

  • Victoria’s Secret (Ticker: VSCO) is also seeing increased haul share this week. As we move into the holiday shopping season, its fragrance lines and pajama sets have been incredibly prominent in hauls.

  • Garage (Ticker: GRGD) has maintained its status as a go-to store for shoppers and has increased its haul share materially due to the popularity of its basics and matching sets.

🎯 Weekly Deep Dive

Victoria’s Secret: The Return of the Angel?

After years of struggling to connect with younger consumers, Victoria's Secret appears to be experiencing a notable resurgence. Across dozens of haul videos this week, the iconic lingerie brand showed up with remarkable frequency, appearing in 7.3% of all shopping hauls analyzed, more than double its typical 2-3% baseline. This spike coincides with the brand's highly-publicized fashion show return, and the enthusiasm from shoppers suggests Victoria's Secret may finally be recapturing some of its cultural relevance.

What People Are Actually Buying

The most striking pattern across these haul videos is the diversity of what people are purchasing. While Victoria's Secret built its empire on bras and lingerie, today's shoppers are filling their pink striped bags with much more than underwear.

Fragrance has emerged as an absolute standout category. The "Bare" line, particularly Bare Vanilla, was mentioned repeatedly across multiple videos with genuine enthusiasm. One shopper called Bare Vanilla her "favorite scent" and "a staple smell that you always want to smell like." Another excitedly showed off both the original Bare perfume and Bare Sueded Vanilla, declaring them essential purchases. The Bombshell fragrance line also appeared multiple times, with shoppers praising both the full-size bottles and travel rollerballs. What's particularly notable is that these aren't just add-on purchases, people are specifically going to Victoria's Secret for the fragrances, often taking advantage of the buy-one-get-one-free promotions the brand frequently runs.

Loungewear and sleepwear have clearly become major traffic drivers for the brand. Multiple shoppers showed off pajama sets, with the holiday-themed options generating particular excitement. One person gushed about Christmas-themed pajamas with little bows, saying they were "so comfy" and that she needed them "in every single style now." Another featured red and white striped Christmas PJs, while several others showed pink and white striped sets. The comfort factor came up repeatedly, people genuinely seem to love the feel and quality of Victoria's Secret sleepwear, which represents a smart evolution for a brand once primarily associated with more aspirational lingerie.

The PINK sub-brand continues to resonate, particularly with younger shoppers. Fold-over leggings appeared in multiple hauls, with one creator showing off gray ones with a pink and gray leopard print waistband, saying she "fell in love" when she first saw them. PINK athletic wear, matching sets, and basic essentials like sports bras all made appearances. The brand's ability to offer comfortable, casual pieces while maintaining the Victoria's Secret association seems to be paying off.

The brand's promotional strategy also deserves attention. Nearly every haul that included Victoria's Secret mentioned taking advantage of a sale, whether it was the buy-two-get-two-free deals, birthday freebies, or reward discounts. One shopper excitedly explained she got a bodycon dress for just four dollars using rewards and a coupon. Another detailed getting multiple perfumes during a buy-one-get-one promotion. Victoria's Secret has clearly made strategic promotions a core part of their customer acquisition and retention strategy, and shoppers are responding enthusiastically.

The Sentiment Shift

Perhaps more important than what people are buying is how they're talking about the brand. The tone across these videos is predominantly positive, even enthusiastic. This represents a meaningful shift for a company that spent years being criticized for outdated beauty standards and losing relevance with younger consumers.

Shoppers frequently used language like "obsessed," "so cute," and "love it so much" when describing their Victoria's Secret purchases. One person called their black fuzzy robe "so soft and I love her," while another described their shopping trip as making them "feel a lot better." The emotional connection people have with these products comes through clearly, this isn't just transactional shopping.

What's particularly notable is the lack of negativity or apologetic tone. A few years ago, being seen with a Victoria's Secret bag might have felt dated or even problematic to some younger consumers. Now, people are proudly featuring the brand in their hauls without qualification. The accessibility factor has clearly improved as well. Multiple shoppers mentioned being able to afford Victoria's Secret products through sales, rewards programs, and strategic shopping. The brand seems to have successfully maintained its aspirational quality while becoming more attainable, which is a delicate balance that many retailers struggle to achieve.

The Fashion Show Effect

Source: Google Trends

The timing of this surge in shopping haul appearances is hardly coincidental. Google Trends data reveals that interest in Victoria's Secret peaked at 100 out of 100 during this year's fashion show, a notable increase from last year's peak of 76 out of 100. The brand's decision to bring back its iconic fashion show after a several-year hiatus appears to have generated significantly more buzz than even the company might have expected.

What's particularly interesting is that this isn't just passive interest, it's translating into actual shopping behavior. The fashion show created a cultural moment that reminded people Victoria's Secret exists and gave them a reason to visit the stores or website. Several haul creators mentioned their shopping trips happened around the same time as the fashion show, suggesting the event served as an effective marketing catalyst.

The show itself represented a shift in the brand's positioning. After facing years of criticism for lack of diversity and perpetuating unrealistic beauty standards, Victoria's Secret has been working to modernize its image. The return of the fashion show with a more inclusive cast of models seems to have struck a chord with consumers who may have written off the brand in recent years.

The Data Tells a Story

Beyond what we're seeing in individual haul videos, the broader metrics paint a picture of genuine momentum. Web traffic to Victoria's Secret properties increased 33% year-over-year in October, indicating that interest is translating into actual site visits and likely purchases. This isn't just a social media phenomenon, people are actively seeking out the brand.

The haul prevalence metric is particularly telling. For a brand that typically appears in 2-3% of analyzed hauls to suddenly show up in 7.3% represents more than a minor uptick, it's a meaningful shift in shopping behavior. While a single week doesn't constitute a trend, the timing, sentiment, and supporting data all suggest this could be the beginning of a more sustained resurgence rather than a temporary spike.

What It Means

Victoria's Secret finds itself at an interesting inflection point. After years of declining cultural relevance and struggling sales, the brand appears to have found a formula that's resonating with consumers: maintain the aspirational quality people associate with the Victoria's Secret name, offer strategic promotions that make products accessible, expand beyond core lingerie into categories like fragrance and loungewear that have broader appeal, and create cultural moments (like the fashion show) that remind people why they loved the brand in the first place.

The diversity of products appearing in hauls suggests Victoria's Secret has successfully become more than just a lingerie destination. When people think of the brand now, they're thinking about fragrances, comfortable pajamas, cute athletic wear, and yes, still bras and underwear, but all as part of a broader lifestyle offering.

The challenge will be sustaining this momentum. Fashion is fickle, and younger consumers in particular can be quick to move on to the next thing. However, the genuine enthusiasm in these haul videos, combined with the hard data showing increased traffic and interest, suggests Victoria's Secret may have finally figured out how to evolve without losing what made people fall in love with the brand in the first place.

For investors and retail watchers, Victoria's Secret represents an interesting case study in brand revival. The company has spent years working to modernize its image and expand its product offerings, and we're now seeing evidence that these efforts may be paying off. Whether this week's surge in haul appearances represents a temporary spike or the beginning of a sustained comeback remains to be seen, but the early indicators are certainly worth paying attention to.

The pink striped shopping bags are showing up in haul videos with renewed frequency, shoppers are genuinely excited about their purchases, and the cultural conversation around Victoria's Secret has shifted from criticism to cautious optimism, or in some cases, outright enthusiasm. For a brand that many had written off as a relic of the early 2000s, that's no small achievement.

🤖 This Week in AI

  • Anthropic’s incredibly popular, Claude Code, was reportedly used in what we believe is the first large-scale cybercrime that was committed with AI.

  • OpenAI released its GPT 5.1 series of models, including both reasoning and non-reasoning variants, as well as a fresh line of “Codex” models, designed specifically for coding.

  • After releasing its first-ever coding-focused LLM, Cursor AI raised $2.3 billion in a Series D. Much of this funding round will likely go toward training the next iteration of its newfound “Composer” model.

Login or Subscribe to participate

Keep Reading