What’s with everyone buying accessories for their accessories?

These include lip-balm holders that attach to Stanley tumblers, and charms to decorate the tumbler and the lip balm. Bogg sells $20 cup holders that hook onto its beach bags, while kids across the country (and many adults) are fans of the themed Jibbitz charms that adorn Crocs. People are even buying PopSockets for their Kindles and special bags to carry them.

The baubles aren’t just a testament to the wearer’s personality. They also show how easy it is to buy stuff from Instagram and TikTok. Nearly three out of every four U.S. adults who are active on social media have purchased something they saw there, according to a survey from buy-now-pay-later service Citizens Pay.

People tend to go to Amazon.com and other retailers for items they already know they want, while they go to social media for inspiration and impulse buying, says Forrester analyst Kelsey Chickering. “You’re discovering things you probably didn’t know you needed."

It is easy to be tempted into buying more accessories in the name of keeping up with trends. They are often cheap, and online shopping is frictionless. Just because someone bought a new bauble doesn’t mean they won’t buy another in a week—especially if they consider the purchases a way to express their personalities online and off.

According to data from consumer research firm GWI, 28% of Americans who are interested in accessories want other people to like and notice what they wear.

Liv Reese, a 21-year-old beauty and lifestyle influencer in Boston, describes her style as maximalist.

Last year, she came across TikTok videos of people accessorizing their Stanley tumblers with tiny pouches to hold their credit cards, and snack trays that balance on top of the cups. She ended up buying a lip-balm holder and charm with her initials, and made videos about them. They are two of her most popular TikToks.

“It’s almost a hobby to decorate and accessorize things," Reese says. “It’s definitely a way for you to express yourself and show your personal style with items that you’re already using."

Conversation starters

Bogg Bags—square, rubberlike totes that are popular among beach and pool-goers—didn’t initially have accessories during their 2010 debut. But now people buy $12 Bogg Bits charms with initials or sports jersey numbers to stick in the holes on the sides, much like Croc Jibbitz.

Sabrina Aguilar, a 26-year-old special-education teacher in Firebaugh, Calif., thought Bogg Bags resembled Crocs, which aren’t her style. But after seeing people on social media rave about the bag and its decorative charms, she bought one.

“TikTok has a big influence on what I’m buying right now," Aguilar says. She switches her bag’s charms based on her mood, and bought a second, smaller bag and the Bogg Bevy drink holder for her Stanley cup.

“People get to see who you are," Aguilar says, “based on the charms you have on your bag."

Most Bogg customers accessorize their bags with more than four items, says Bogg founder Kim Vaccarella. The company, which introduced its bag accessories in 2014, has seen a surge in bag decorating over the past two years, she says. Later this year, the company plans to introduce new accessories like a tray that sits on top of the bag, she says.

Now that Bogg has sold over three million bags, and many people carry them, Vaccarella considers the accessories to be useful as identifiers. “It kind of lets you point out your Bogg Bag quickly," she says.

Buzzy releases

One item that encapsulates social media’s influence on accessories is the Rhode Lip Case. Hailey Bieber, the beauty brand’s founder with the middle name Rhode, started teasing the product on Instagram and TikTok weeks before it became available in February. The $35 iPhone case holds an $18 Rhode lip tint or treatment. It sold out in 25 minutes.

At a time when everything seems more expensive, small accessories can be cheaper than new shoes or clothing, but equally buzzy, says Jake Bjorseth, founder of Trndsttrs, a Gen Z marketing agency.

In June, Rhode introduced new case and lip-tint colors, and opened a pop-up shop in New York. Young women waited in a line that stretched around the block—even though they could buy the new cases and some of the beauty products online.

Trinity Ijoma, a 22-year-old recent mechanical-engineering graduate in Dallas, saw the new colors on social media and wanted to check them out in person during a visit to New York. She ended up spending about $53 for the limited-edition guava spritz-colored case with a matching lip tint.

Ijoma no longer rummages through her purse to find her lip gloss—and gets plenty of compliments on her phone case.

Personality traits

Vivian Nguyen’s charm obsession started in May. The 23-year-old communications major from Houston punched a hole in her lip-balm tube to hang a keychain loop and charms, a trend she saw on TikTok. She is planning a girls’ night to make lip-gloss keychains with her friends.

Nguyen thinks more people are accessorizing to express their personalities post-Covid-19. “People are just more comfortable with putting themselves out there now," she says.

Social media is awash in videos from influencers promoting products. Nearly half of Gen Z says a product going viral is important to them when considering whether to buy something, according to data-intelligence company Morning Consult.

After the pandemic, trends seem to shift at a faster clip, says Trey Hyde. The 18-year-old says he and his peers tend to switch their accessories often to communicate their moods and how they see themselves.

Hyde, a fashion-business-management student based in Kansas City, Mo., started off by hooking keychains onto his belt loops. He has since “Jane Birkinfied" his purses with trinkets and pins. He started off with a few keychains, but has since added more.

“We’re the first generation to actually grow up with social media," Hyde says, “so we’ve been conditioned to change quickly."