What *is* TikTok Shop, Anyway? (App Update)

Flashy deals. Influencer collaborations. Brand crash-outs.

TikTok is continuously finding new ways to be trendy and stay in the denizens of the internet's mind, for better or for worse.

On September 15, 2023 TikTok shop released in the US bringing in shoppable videos and LIVE streams directly to consumers. LIVE streams is frequent content that allows creators to broadcast and stream in real-time, any-time, anywhere.

In 2025, Tiktok is allowing users to buy and browse without ever having to leave the platform.

It was meant to be the latest in social e-commerce.

TikTok Shop will -- and has mostly work with businesses to increase their marketing and SEO. Live Shopping has been the latest in the developing business world, and users have responded positively.

With TikTok as an app ranking fifth in a 2024 study, TikTok Shop has been used amongst 55% of user data had been impulse orders since 2022.

Then, the algorithm utilizes the algorithm of the "For You" page with targeted or specifically curated ads.

From that method, consumer spending grew a significant amount.

Promoting cheap items with flashy ads had proven to be an effective e-commerce strategy, as in 2023 39% of users reported in a US data report to buy directly from the TikTok platform.

So, this market strategy, of using the users' low attention span to garner a fast impulse buy with a big ad in bright letters, or even a trending sound, resulted in a controversial response across the platform once users caught on.

One could point out from TikTok Shop's perspective, the company is trying to keep its' target audience on lock and key.

With Gen-Z being their top target audience, they're both economically and socially aware of the issues with impulse buying and too-much screen-time. If 44.7% of the user base (people born between 1997-2012), stopped logging onto the app, TikTok Shop would not be able to break even.

TikTok, from a company perspective, for certain knows this.

So, the key take-away is: how do we beat a corporate giant?

Some circles online, mostly stemming from liberal or democratic groups, suggest having a "no buy" or "low buy" year.

This concept adapts to one's own unique situation, as it can be freely adjusted depending on what you're comfortable with. Some suggestions include; no purchasing frequently off big wigs like Amazon, Amazon Kindle, or Uber Eats or any food-ordering service if one could avoid it.

If you're a reader and have a lot of physical copy books that were on a "To Read List" (TRL), the suggestion would be to neglect buying something new until a series is finished.

(A painful suggestion, I get it. Though, my current TRL is getting smaller since January, and I am currently reading through the Bone Season Series by Samantha Shannon, and started this week Sunrise on the Reaping by Suzanne Collins. With a set goal in mind, it's easy to start checking off the list).

In conclusion, whether it is a "no-buy" or "low-buy", it has to be something that makes sense for you. Whether its' spending less on Amazon, or TikTok Shop, or Etsy, or not spending at all to save up for a big purchase, as long as you feel a difference in your saving and spending habits, then that as a whole was a key take away -- and in on a even smaller scale, you've tripped up a monopoly.

Reflective questions: have you heard of TikTok Shop? Do you use TikTok Shop frequently? How familiar are you with the "no-buy", "low-buy" discussion? Were you interested in the statistics about TikTok/TikTok Shop's user data?

Feel free to keep the conversation going.