How Walmart’s ‘Wirkin’ is helping redefine dupe culture

The desire for inexpensive knockoffs of pricey viral clothing, accessories, makeup and other products is surging among Gen Z and millennials as many struggle with the ongoing cost-of-living crisis. At the same time, however, a growing number of these teen to early 40-something consumers are reframing the so-called “dupe culture” popularized by TikTok to emphasize value and quality, rather than rushing to collect as many replicas of high-end products as possible. This shift in Gen Z and millennials’ perception of “dupe culture” came to a head late last month with the TikTok frenzy around the “Walmart Birkin,” a purse modeled after the exponentially more expensive Hermès Birkin handbag. The so-called Walmart Birkin, often abbreviated to the “Wirkin,” retailed for about $80 on Walmart’s website before the social media buzz around the handbag led it to sell out. The price of an Hermès Birkin purse starts at roughly $10,000. Between Dec. 25 and Jan. 12, the Wirkin was mentioned roughly 6,300 times across social media platforms and news outlets, according to media monitoring platform Meltwater. While the virality of the Walmart Birkin was fueled by the purse’s resemblance to a much pricier luxury item, the TikTok creator whose videos set off the Wirkin craze told Ad Age she was drawn to the purse because of the value it offered at an affordable price rather than wanting to pass off the Wirkin as a genuine luxury handbag. “While dupes are great, I think that most people are probably now trying to find just their version of luxury, something that makes sense for them,” said Jessica, who goes by @Jessi.My on TikTok and requested her last name not be used. “You don’t expect to be getting Hermès quality at Walmart. But maybe it doesn’t need to look like something else—it just needs to make people feel good and proud to carry.” @jessi.my #walmart #birkin #Hermes #fyp ♬ original sound - Jessi My Though they’ve been dubbed the “Walmart Birkin,” the viral purses were actually listed on the retailer’s website by several third-party brands, including Kamugo and Bestspr. All the product listings Jessica linked out to on her account on creator shopping platform LTK now throw error messages that say the pages no longer exist. Walmart did not say whether it pulled the Wirkins from its site, which it called “dynamic, reflecting the ever-changing array of products we carry.” Yesterday, it announced a new partnership with luxury reseller Rebag to bring purses and accessories from high-end brands such as Chanel and Prada to the Walmart website. More from Ad Age: Influencer marketing predictions for 2025 The popularity of the Wirkin is just one example in a larger pattern of trends pushing back against the overconsumption that has become normalized on social media, where influencers often don stacks of Cartier or David Yurman bracelets—which cost thousands of dollars each—and flaunt massive hauls of Christmas gifts totaling upwards of $40,000. Hundreds of TikTok creators rang in the New Year by documenting the start of their “no buy” or “low buy” 2025, committing to dramatically cut back on their spending over the next few months and sharing cost-saving tips with their followers. Simultaneously, the “Project Pan” trend made waves on TikTok as creators highlighted their excessive collections of beauty and makeup products and pledged to use up each product before purchasing new ones in the same category. Both trends fall under the umbrella of the broader “underconsumption” movement that’s persisted on TikTok for over half a year. “It seems like there’s sort of an awareness happening with Gen Z, and young consumers broadly, of the fact that there are downsides to micro-trends [and] there are downsides to dupes,” that are designed to capitalize on those brief trends and getting discarded when they leave the internet spotlight a month or two later, said Casey Lewis, author of the youth trends newsletter After School. Lewis said she’s seen an uptick in videos from creators mocking people they deem a so-called “micro-trend final boss,” or someone who buys new clothing and accessories for every fleeting social media fashion trend—such as “tomato girl summer” or the “mob wife aesthetic”—as the underconsumption movement has gained traction on TikTok. Instead, Gen Zers are increasingly focusing on purchases such as the Wirkin—“something that’s relatively high-quality, but also lets them spend as little as possible,” she said. @jemmaviolett My biggest tip to saving money lol look back on old micro trends #microtrends #greenscreen #fashion #deinfluencing #fastfashion #fashiontok #style #styletok #trendyclothes ♬ original sound - Jemma Violet “Gen Z is sort of renegotiating what luxury means,” Lewis added. “For them, luxury could mean a brand like Lululemon, which is more accessible, versus an Hermès Birkin that feels so inaccessible that they don’t have the emotional connection or desire to get it.” Indeed, Gen Z consumers’ interest in luxury brands has steadily declined in recent years, according to a 2024 report from consulting firm Bain & Company. Between 2022 and 2024, “50 million luxury consumers either opted out of the luxury goods market or [were] forced out of it” due to economic pressure, the report states. “This is a signal for brands that it’s time to readjust their value propositions. To win back customers, particularly the younger ones, brands will need to lead with creativity and expand conversation topics.” Ad Age Gen Z Contributor Column We welcome Gen Zers to submit fresh takes exploring Gen Z within the ad industry Learn more here Jessica, a millennial, noted that many commenters on her Wirkin-related videos brought up the accessibility and versatility of the purse rather than just its resemblance to a Birkin. “It doesn’t seem like just a short-term [trend],” she said. “A lot of people said they love the idea that people would buy a bag like this and actually use it. I’ve done videos where I go grocery shopping and put my groceries in it, or take it to work, and people love that. I think people are over the whole ‘extreme luxury’ thing.” @jessi.my #fyp #update #wirkin #Walmart #birkin ♬ original sound - Jessi My The desire for dupes “Dupe culture” isn’t disappearing any time soon—young consumers are just becoming more selective and thoughtful when shopping for them. “Dupe culture is here to stay,” said Kirthi Kalyanam, professor and executive director of the Retail Management Institute at Santa Clara University’s Leavey School of Business. “If anything, it’s only going to get stronger. It’s a function of how iconic certain designs are and how much economic pressure consumers are facing. Rewind: How TikTok dupe culture can actually benefit brand value According to research from Northeastern University, 71% of Gen Zers and 67% of millennials “sometimes” or “always” buy dupes, and are transparent about the fact that those products are replicas rather than “clandestinely purchas[ing] dupes hoping to pass them off as the real thing” as older generations have. Cash-strapped consumers who lack the funds to go on a vacation or afford other types of entertainment, often those on the younger end of the age spectrum, are also increasingly using shopping and “retail therapy” at department stores such as T.J. Maxx as a substitute for those experiences, Kalyanam said. “I can see why this kind of ‘dupe culture’ could gain a lot of momentum” over the next several months, he added. “It makes you feel good, to the extent that consumers are looking for these goods as a way to create excitement and entertainment.” NextGen Marketing Summit Join us for a crash course on Gen Z, DTC marketing and the creator economy Register today

How Walmart’s ‘Wirkin’ is helping redefine dupe culture

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