New year, same plans to push for a surge in e-commerce transactions.
2024 might be the year TikTok persuades more of its American users to spend their money in the same place they scroll for entertainment, without ever leaving the app. A new report from Bloomberg says the ByteDance–owned platform is trying “to grow the size of its U.S. e-commerce business tenfold to as much as $17.5 billion this year.”
In China, TikTok (which is locally called Douyin) more than tripled its e-commerce sales, a significant revenue source for the app. Its biggest driver, livestreaming, hasn’t been much of a hit in the U.S., with many other social platforms abandoning their live shopping efforts altogether.
Western spending on TikTok has grown, according to reporting from last fall, but the increase has been on “digital gifts” to creators rather than product purchases. A recent report from data.ai said the majority of consumer spending on TikTok is on Coins, which users can use to buy virtual gifts or trade for real-world currency.
This data does nothing to support the idea that U.S. consumers are leery of sharing their financial information via social media—spending is spending, whether it’s on virtual gifts for other users or on products. TikTok probably considers this a reason to continue its push Stateside, but how the platform actually tempts TikTokers to start shopping is what we’re waiting to find out.
In China, Douyin has incorporated food delivery to ratchet up purchasing on its app. But we’ve already got some pretty viable options with Uber Eats and Postmates, so I fail to see how TikTok might wiggle into this market.
Bottom line: TikTok shows no end to its efforts to make e-commerce as successful here as in China, and even a fraction of its goal would be an improvement. Should jewelers jump in with a TikTok Shop before in-app shopping (maybe, possibly) takes off for real? While TikTok is set to increase its vendor fees this year, those retailers with a budget and the know-how for social e-commerce may be wise to do so. There’s no promise it will result in lucrative sales, but it could be key to reaching more of the highly sought after Gen Z clientele.
(Photo: Getty Images)
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