What the World Is Unboxing on TikTok and Instagram (Haul & Unboxing Index 2025)

The originality of this study lies in its dual perspective. The “Global Social Index” measures the raw power of content on a planetary scale, capturing which brands generate the most haul and unboxing content across TikTok and Instagram worldwide.

This approach reveals the brands that have truly mastered the art of creating “unboxable” moments, products and experiences that naturally inspire people to hit record and share their purchases with the world.

The verdict is clear: Shein and Zara occupy the top two spots in the global ranking. Their formula? An uninterrupted flow of new arrivals, prices that encourage multiple purchases, and products that naturally lend themselves to filmed unboxing.

But reducing the haul universe to this single duel would be a mistake. Behind this duo, a far more nuanced battle is playing out.

Sephora has firmly established itself in the top of the rankings. The brand benefits from a well-oiled mechanism: content creators who test, comment on, and share their discoveries. Beauty formats (“first impressions,” “get ready with me,” product demonstrations) generate a constant stream of videos.

Temu embodies a new category: the unapologetic discount haul. The pleasure no longer comes solely from the product, but from the volume of the basket. Filming a mountain of small purchases becomes a format in itself, abundantly commented on and shared.

Action confirms that a budget positioning can generate enormous volumes of content, provided you focus on visually attractive or surprising products.

Finally, Vinted‘s presence in the top 10 marks a symbolic turning point: secondhand is no longer a niche. Vinted hauls tell a different story – one of treasure hunting, sustainability, and authenticity – but produce volumes comparable to new items.

Unsurprisingly, TikTok captures approximately two-thirds (66%) of the total signal in the top 20. The platform has established itself as the natural home of the haul: short formats, rapid virality, and the ability to transform a simple unboxing into a mini-spectacle.

Instagram plays a different but complementary role. The platform ensures the long tail of the phenomenon: discovery via hashtags, social proof, and content accumulation over time. The two ecosystems don’t compet, they reinforce each other.

Beyond the Top 10, the complete Index reveals an active long tail: numerous retailers generate haul and unboxing content, but in a less concentrated and less systematic way.

Two distinct profiles emerge:

Some retailers have strong brand awareness and high e-commerce traffic but rank lower in the classification. Their products occasionally appear in unboxings (tech, home, sports), but generate fewer repeated hauls, for example LEGO or IKEA. The reason is structural: often single-item purchases, longer replacement cycles, and a functional rather than screen-demonstrative use value.

Other players display intermediate volumes on TikTok and Instagram (such as Lush, Bershka or Apple). The data shows an existing signal, but dispersed: a few high-performing videos, without continuous momentum. Their presence suggests real potential that could be amplified through better collection structuring, ready-to-unbox bundles, or more systematic creator activation.

These brands share a common point: they’re not absent from social networks, but haven’t yet industrialized the haul/unboxing format like the leaders have. Conversely, the top 10 retailers distinguish themselves through their ability to produce a regular flow of filmable content (frequent new arrivals, multi-product baskets, visible promise from the moment of opening), transforming each order into a content creation opportunity.

Beyond the ranking, the 2025 Index highlights a structural reality of digital retail:

• Hauls are built around accessible prices, volume, and visual pleasure.
• Players capable of maintaining a “haul-ready” inventory (frequent new arrivals, multi-product baskets, immediate promise) dominate the signal.
• Social desirability isn’t decreed: it’s designed, paced, and staged.

The brands that win on social media aren’t necessarily those with the biggest marketing budgets – they’re the ones that understand how to create moments worth filming, products worth sharing, and experiences worth unboxing on camera.

Methodology

The study covers 50 brands and retailers. For each, Lengow counted, as of December 30, 2025, public content associated with #haul and #unboxing hashtags linked to the brand name on TikTok and Instagram (cumulative counters). The Global ranking is based on a synthetic social visibility score. The Index measures social desirability, not sales volume.