How brands are using Reddit (and beyond) to build authority, community & digital shelf strength

There’s been a quiet shift in the way people make decisions online, and it’s happening faster than most brands realise. Shoppers are relying less on ads & influencers and more on each other. They want real voices, real experiences and real guidance from people who don’t have a commercial agenda. This shift is reshaping how brands build trust, relevance and visibility across every digital channel - especially the digital shelf. 

One of the clearest signs of this change is Reddit. It’s become a home for unfiltered, honest conversations with strangers who feel familiar. So much so that it now calls itself “the heart of the internet”. But Reddit’s rise is part of something bigger: a decentralised, community-driven ecosystem where authority is earned, not bought, and where the impact stretches far beyond any single platform. 

Why Community Has Become a Growth Lever 

Communities matter right now for a simple reason: trust has moved. Traditional advertising doesn’t land like it used to, social feeds are overloaded, and Google is no longer the default starting point for research. People want recommendations from those who’ve lived the same problem - people “like them” in their budget, life stage, health situation or interests. 

For FMCG and CPG brands, this shift is huge. Categories once built on ad reach, routine and habit are now shaped by conversation, shared experience and fast-moving trends.  

Community has moved beyond engagement. It’s a trust signal - and trust signals matter more than ever. The rise of AI-driven discovery has accelerated this, with platforms like ChatGPT leaning heavily on reputable sources to determine product authority. Communities offer that credibility at scale, and Reddit in particular is regarded as one of the most trusted reference environments for AI engines. 

The trust gap is exactly why Reddit has become such a powerful force. 90% of users say they go to Reddit to learn about products, 40% rely on it for recommendations, and 82% of Gen Z call it their go-to source for authentic content. And the commercial impact is real. Reddit users are 27% more likely to purchase a product they see advertised on the platform compared to other social channels. When they trust the source, they trust the suggestion. 

The Pull of Reddit and Its ‘Communities of Authority’ 

Reddit has become central to this shift because people show up with intention. It’s no longer a niche corner of the internet - it’s the eighth most visited site in the world, home to more than 100,000 active subreddits and 110 million daily users, growing 21% year-on-year. Searches on the platform have also jumped more than 20% as people bypass traditional search engines and go straight to community conversation. 

What makes this even more compelling is who’s there. More than 70% of Reddit users are Millennials or Gen Z, and over 90% are under 50. These are early adopters, decision-makers and shoppers with disposable income, the exact cohorts driving category growth and reshaping expectations across FMCG, beauty, wellness, gaming, home and tech.  

And they’re not scrolling aimlessly. They’re searching for recommendations, advice and shared experiences. It’s one of the few places where long-form, honest conversation still thrives. Upvotes push credible contributions to the top, and subreddits act like digital category rooms for everything from skincare and niche diets to pet health, tech, gaming and bargain hunting. 

What happens in these rooms matters. A single post can influence thousands of purchase decisions across retailer sites. Someone shares their experience, others join in, the thread gets saved, and soon branded search begins lifting on Google, Amazon, Chemist Warehouse or Woolworths. 

That spike in curiosity becomes a spike in demand on the digital shelf. 

How Brands Are Building Authority Inside Reddit 

The smartest brands treat Reddit like a conversation, not a campaign. They show up with humility, not slogans, and take an always-on approach that fuels demand and surfaces insights that shape product, messaging and more. 

Founders answer questions honestly. Experts run Ask Me Anything (AMAs) threads without pushing product. Teams listen for ingredient concerns, packaging frustrations and unmet needs. Sometimes brands join a thread directly; other times they quietly absorb what they see and apply those insights to product development, messaging or retail content. 

And the impact isn’t limited to big innovation moments. Often, it’s the tactical shifts that move the needle such as tightening copy, refining claims or rethinking image stacks on PDPs. Some of the most effective optimisations start as casual comments in a community long before they show up on a retailer site. 

The Wider Community Ecosystem Shaping Decisions 

Reddit is an important community, but far from the only critical one. Communities everywhere play different roles in shaping discovery and demand. 

Discord servers feel intimate and often centre on passions like gaming, wellness, lifting, pets or niche hobbies. Facebook Groups also remain popular in Australia for parenting, chronic illness support, food hacks, bargain hunting and allergy-friendly shopping. TikTok’s comment sections have become mini community hubs where people debate products in real time. 

Platforms like ProductReview, Whirlpool and OzBargain are also highly influential for categories such as tech, home, pet and appliances. Private recommendation loops in WhatsApp and Messenger groups are growing fast too. 

Together, these communities form a distributed discovery engine. They don’t replace search or social, they influence them, shaping what people look for, trust and ultimately buy. 

What It Takes to Build Real Community Authority 

Building credibility within communities isn’t about dropping into threads with promotional replies. It starts with listening - genuinely listening - to what people care about, how they speak and what frustrates them. 

From there, the role a brand plays depends on its personality and audience needs. Some brands act as educators. Others show up as problem-solvers or insiders who can explain the “why” behind ingredients, pricing or processes.  

For Refy, leaning heavily into learning from their community paid off. The brand noticed consistent feedback across Reddit, TikTok and review threads about its Brow Sculpt. People loved the hold but wanted a smoother texture and easier application. Instead of dismissing the criticism, Refy treated it as direction. They read comments, watched reviews and paid attention to how customers described the experience. That openness paid off. Refy reformulated the product to address the exact pain points raised by the community, and the updated version became one of the most talked-about brow products online, not because of a major campaign, but because customers felt heard. 

Playing It Smart in Spaces You Don’t Control 

Community spaces aren’t built for brands; they’re built for people. When brands enter, they need to respect the rules and culture. 

Some communities don’t welcome brand participation. Others do - but only with transparency and in ways that are conducive to how the community engages. Categories like supplements, infant products or anything regulated require tighter guardrails. And every brand needs to accept that community conversations can’t be controlled, only influenced thoughtfully. 

The opportunity is huge, but the approach matters. 

The Shift That’s Reshaping Brand Growth 

The brands winning on the digital shelf today aren’t always the ones spending the most. They’re the ones earning genuine authority in the places where people talk, ask questions and compare notes. They listen before they speak. They let community truth shape how they show up across retail, content and product. 

Authority is drifting from branded spaces toward community spaces, and that shift is worth embracing. Brands that treat communities as partners, not channels, will grow stronger, earn trust faster and rise on the digital shelf one conversation at a time. 

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Arktic Fox works with brands to build digital shelf strategies that improve discoverability, strengthen product content and drive retail performance. Whether you’re looking to refine your PDPs, build a smarter retail content system or understand what your community signals mean for your brand, our team can support you.