As initially reported by Bloomberg, TikTok is testing a feature that might allow all posts on the app to be purchased. The action is a component of the corporation’s strategy to grow TikTok Shop into a multibillion-dollar American e-commerce giant. TikTok would not offer any further information, only confirming that the feature is still undergoing restricted testing.
After automatically identifying objects in movies, the new test function tells users to “find similar items on TikTok Shop.” Products could only be tagged in the past by brands and influencers who were approved. More movies on the app would have e-commerce connections thanks to the new capability.
The announcement coincides with a Bloomberg story from earlier this month stating that TikTok hopes to grow its TikTok Shop U.S. business tenfold this year, to the tune of up to $17.5 billion. With this objective, TikTok would want to challenge not just Amazon but also Temu and Shein, two other Chinese-owned businesses that have gained popularity in the United States. However, TikTok has something these other businesses lack: a very successful social media network with millions of prospective users.
In November, during the Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales, almost 5 million new American users made purchases through TikTok Shop. To put things in perspective, the social media app has about 150 million American users right now.
TikTok Shop allows producers to tag things so that users can purchase products from in-feed videos and live videos. The app officially launched in the United States in September 2023. For some users, the addition of TikTok Shop links to the app’s normal content may not be a welcome development.
TikTok’s growth appears to be slowing down, according to new data, which begs the issue of whether the app’s TikTok Shop e-commerce initiatives are to blame. The number of monthly active users on TikTok increased by 12% on average per quarter in 2022, but in 2023 this number dropped to 3% year over year per quarter. The deceleration follows the American debut of TikTok Shop.
Online debates on whether TikTok Shop “ruined” the app have been going on, with some people complaining that the platform was becoming an “ad-filled wasteland.”
