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I hope by this point you’ve weathered the Black Friday/Cyber Monday/Endless Purchasing Cycle that claims this corner of the calendar. All those ads and emails can inspire their own kind of heavy breathing and need for meditation. I don’t know about you, but to me it seems like this cycle starts earlier, goes later, and gets more intense every year.
Why is that? An economic system built on unfettered growth? Materialism as a salve for a society that’s lost its moral/spiritual center? Or maybe there’s just a lot of cool stuff to buy?
Since this is a newsletter about creator marketing, not sociology, I don’t have all the answers. But I do know one brand that’s helped fuel some of the blockbuster Black Fridays we’ve been seeing as of late. Let’s see what they’re up to now! Maybe it’ll provide some more holiday gift inspiration for anyone (cough cough) who’s a little late in that department.
It’s either a boss move or an act of hubris for a brand to name itself after the category it represents. You don’t see many grocery stores named Food, or cosmetics brands called Beauty. But what started as a potential SEO nightmare has ended with impressive results
How did HomeGoods pull it off? By carving out a lane for itself as a major purveyor of not just, you know, good for your home, but ~ whimsy ~. Thanks to a host of niche, somewhat bizarre items, alongside all the basic necessities, HomeGoods has achieved notoriety and virality among certain corners of the internet, especially in TikTok videos like this one from Natalie Zacek.
The basic formula or conceit behind creators’ HomeGoods content is a simple three-step process that any seasoned shopper can relate to:
By the way, note the top comment on the video I linked above: a cheeky reply from HomeGoods’ owned TikTok account. Like all savvy brands that invest in creator marketing strategies, they’re in on the joke, folks.
Let’s see how this winning formula has played out on a large scale, starting with HomeGoods’ creator count over the last several years:
HomeGoods Creator Count, 2020 - 2025
We rarely see such stability for so many years of an HBBIP graph, but there it is: from 2020 to 2022, not much changed for HomeGoods’ creator count. Then we saw a nudge in 2023, followed by a surge in 2024. While 2025 lags behind, it’s still well above any pre-2024 year, and there’s still a solid chance that HomeGoods could pull ahead. More on that later.
HomeGoods Post Count, 2020 - 2025
An even more drastic case of consistency when it comes to post count: four years with practically no changes—even a slight decline—and then boom! Who says you need uninterrupted, perfectly linear growth?
HomeGoods Impressions, 2020 - 2025
HomeGoods’ impressions, that’s who. Despite the staticness of HomeGoods’ creator and post counts, this metric followed a pattern more familiar to HBBIP readers—at least until the first ten months of 2025.
HomeGoods Engagements, 2020 - 2025
We see a similar trajectory with engagements, where the gap between 2024 and 2025 is even starker. Normally, I wouldn’t want to include info that makes it looks like HomeGoods isn’t primed to continue growing, but in this case, I’m confident that the brand can make a comeback. Here’s why:
Monthly HomeGoods Impressions, 2020 - 2025
You’re looking at a graph of HomeGoods’ monthly impressions for the last six years. Within that graph, you’re probably looking at that one dramatic spike in November 2024, when HomeGoods surged all the way to 317.1M impressions: almost double the brand’s next-highest monthly total, 191.3M in July 2024.
In other words, Black Friday and holiday content has lifted the brand before, and I bet it’ll do so again.
Monthly HomeGoods Impressions, 2020 - 2025
Here’s the graph of engagements. No, it’s not the same picture, but it tells a similar story. If HomeGoods is going to close the gap in impressions and engagements, now is the time.
One other interesting thing about those impressions and engagements? Where they come from. Here we saw an inversion of the usual breakdown:
HomeGoods Share of Impressions, November 2024 - October 2025
Things are pretty evenly split when it comes to impressions, which leads me to believe that Instagram will have the upper hand when it comes to engagements, as per usual…
HomeGoods Share of Engagements, November 2024 - October 2025
Not this time! TikTok is punching above its weight, driving a greater share of engagements than Instagram. It’s not just HomeGoods’ owned account liking and commenting on those funny videos: it’s thousands of digital consumers looking for laughs, decor tips, and genuine human connection.
So for all those folks still doing their holiday shopping (couldn’t be me), keep HomeGoods in mind. Not just for gift inspiration, but actual inspiration. After all, as the brand’s holiday numbers indicate, it’s not about how you start—it’s how you finish.
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