Indigo stores now feature a section of books trending on TikTok

Oct 5 2021, 8:47 pm

Indigo stores across Canada are beginning to incorporate displays highlighting books that are trending on TikTok, allowing readers to quickly find popular titles on social media.

The new in-store tables are a nod to #BookTok, a TikTok hashtag that book lovers use when talking about their favourite reads. Videos tagged with #BookTok have together accumulated more than 22 billion views on the app.

“TikTok has created a new way to share personal book recommendations, giving people an opportunity to discover great reads,” Indigo’s senior vice-president of print Rania Husseini told Daily Hive. “This trend has also been a positive experience for our authors as many of the books being called out on TikTok are having a resurgence in popularity from their original release date.”

Indigo initially began featuring TikTok-famous reads on its online Now Trending on #BookTok page and has recently dedicated feature tables in physical stores across the country. Right now, all large-format Indigo and Chapters stores have a table featuring recommendations from TikTok.

Young adult fiction and romance have thus far been the most popular genres on TikTok, Husseini said. But as more people download TikTok and become active on it, she’s seeing a wider array of genres being talked about. Fiction and science fiction are both seeing a boost in interest, which she credits to TikTok.

“What is fascinating to us is that the recommendation process is not necessarily tied to genre, but to the experience of connecting with that story,” she said. “So TikTok really brings new readership to established genres.”

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Some popular TikTok-inspired titles Indigo features include The Song of AchillesĀ by Madeline Miller, The Seven Husbands of Evelyn HugoĀ by Taylor Jenkins Reid,Ā It Ends with UsĀ by Colleen Hoover,Ā One Last Stop by Casey McQuiston, andĀ She Who Became the SunĀ by Shelley Parker-Chan.

Sean Loughran, Daily Hive’s book reviewer and author behind Avocado Diaries Blog, said he relies heavily on Instagram and TikTok to choose his next items to read.

He thinks Indigo is smart to lean into BookTok and Bookstagram to help customers find items they’ve seen in their online communities.

“BookTok book trends are immediate, and contributors using the hashtag have the power to bring books to the top of bestseller lists around the world,” he said. “It’s a new, exciting, and on trend, way to connect with readers everywhere.”

Megan DevlinMegan Devlin

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