Meta’s new venture Threads amassed 100 million sign-ups in less than five days after launching on July 7. But, as Threads nears the end of its first month, app users are down 60% from its initial launch.
This is according to Similarweb senior insights manager David Carr, who adds that Threads usage peaked immediately after launching, with more than 49 million daily active users on Android alone.
“That’s more than a third of Twitter’s audience on that platform,” Carr said. “However, by July 23, that had fallen to 12.6 million daily active users, or about 12% of Twitter’s audience.”
Moreover, the average amount of time active Threads users spent on the app has also dropped as of the final week in July.
“US Android users spent nearly 21 minutes per day on the app immediately after launch, but over the past week, they’ve spent less than 5 minutes per day with it. In contrast, Twitter users consistently engaged with the app for about 25 minutes per day.”
But what is Threads and how are fashion businesses using it?
On its website, Meta says Threads was built by the Instagram team and designed to share text updates and join public conversations.
“You log in using your Instagram account and posts can be up to 500 characters long and include links, photos, and videos up to 5 minutes in length.
“We’re working to soon make Threads compatible with the open, interoperable social networks that we believe can shape the future of the internet.”
The Iconic chief marketing officer Jo Robinson says the online marketplace has been using Threads to generate interactivity with its customers.
“Instead of solely focusing on products, Threads allows us to have direct conversations with our customers,” Robinson says. “We’ve used the platform to ask questions such as, 'What trends are you loving?’, ‘Where do you get your outfit inspiration from?’, and ‘How can we make shopping easier for you?’.
“By gathering these insights, we’re hoping it will help us improve the overall customer experience across our channels.
“Although Threads is still relatively new, we’re seeing a positive response to the posts that showcase our brand’s personality. While the engagement level on Threads may not match that of our TikTok and Instagram channels yet, we’re excited to see how the platform will grow and be used by other brands.”
Beginning Boutique PR and social coordinator Ivy Mullins says the app is championing the stream-of-consciousness style of online socialising.
“I think it will really become a way for Gen Z to post their stream-of-consciousness and thoughts on trending topics and issues, much like Millennials and older generations had Facebook statuses and MySpace… and a little bit on Twitter.
“For us, that meant asking, observing and connecting and engaging with our community, rather than just posting call-to-actions, sales, and things like that.”
Mullins says the new social platform is very relevant to the Beginning Boutique brand and its consumers. She says much of its content on Threads are memes and general funny posts, with plans to introduce product posts in the future.
Is Threads the next best thing for Australian fashion?
According to Mullins, it’s hard to say.
“I mean, at the moment, there's no ability to link and track links as you would like an Instagram story,” she says. “So I think it depends on how it develops - whether or not they bring in ads and you can boost a thread to get potentially more reach. Because at the moment, the only way to cross-promote yourself is to be commenting on other people's Threads - like famous people's Threads.
"That's how you get noticed and gain more followers."
LSKD social media coordinator Gracie Porter says the future remains unclear, as Threads finds its footing in the market.
“Everyone was using it for the first few days of launching the app, but now we see fewer people using it for everyday posts and more for updates on brands and product launches.
“I think it will take a while for everyone to figure out the best way to utilise the platform. For retailers, we see it becoming a great way to update the community and keep them involved within the business.”
According to Robinson, the future potential of Threads for retailers lies in its ability to cultivate a distinct and authentic tone of voice.
“By using Threads as a platform to engage customers differently, businesses can tap into unique opportunities for meaningful connections,” Robinson says. “However, the ultimate question remains: will users continue to embrace and stick with Threads?
“As the platform evolves, it will be exciting to witness how it adapts and gains traction within the market.”
Mullins says there is hope, noting that Beginning Boutique is continuing to see active engagement on its Threads account. This comes from its social strategy used across its other social accounts on Instagram and TikTok, which involves cultivating a community through behind-the-scenes and mini series content.
“At Beginning, we see fashion trends cycle, but we're now seeing online trends and platform trends cycle," she says. "I think there was a gap in the market for that ability to be really raw and real with people that you know, and just post that stream-of-consciousness and just continue posting until something hits with your audience.
“And that's what we're trying to do at the moment: just post as much as possible. See what does gain traction. And then from there, work out a strategy to build on from that.
“Nobody really expected TikTok to catapult and have as many users as it did," Mullins continues. "And we know that early adoption of apps is really where you start to grow the most. So if you can gain a following and gain a unique following early on, then it's much easier to continue to catapult yourself into relevancy, especially as a brand.
“I hope it does become the next Twitter for Gen Z because I think a lot of Gen Z people don't use Twitter. And I think that they would really benefit from an app that is majority tech space, rather than video and visually based.”