The Rise of Tik Tok Shop; Dance Moves to Dollar Signs

Cover Art by Abigail Seguin

TikTok, the once hailed go-to app for trendy dances and viral challenges, has seen a recent shift in its ever-changing landscape of digital platforms to incorporate e-commerce. As the app began to experience newly seen popularity during the COVID19 pandemic, many users took to the platform posting videos to particular songs that were trending at the time such as “Tap In” by Saweetie or “Say So” by Doja Cat while simultaneously performing the corresponding viral dance along with it. In fact, some users on the app, such as Charlie D’Amelio and Addison Rae, shot to newly seen levels of stardom for their creative dance inventions that encapsulated the nation and inspired other users to reenact and post about it. 

Over the years, however, the app has undergone many updates to improve the overall quality and functionality of the platform. With that being said, users of the app now have the ability to sell products directly through the platform using the newly added feature known as TikTok Shop. TikTok Shop is an in-app commerce experience that allows users to sell products via in-feed videos, live streams, Shop ads, and more. This transition into the ecommerce space has ignited a storm in both small and large businesses alike to team up with TikTok users to create engaging advertising content. By leveraging the platform's unique format and algorithm-driven content discovery, advertisers can effectively capture the attention of many users and help drive consumption of a given product. 

Moreover, TikTok’s foray into e-commerce has further solidified its position as a destination for both entertainment and commerce, With features like “Shop Now” buttons, shoppable ads, and the integration of third-party e-commerce platforms, TikTok has made it easier than ever for users to discover and purchase products directly through and within the app. In fact, some may argue TikTok has made it a little too easy to purchase products. Nowadays, anytime I open the app on my phone, I always feel as though my first few scrolls contain videos with an “Eligible for Commission '' tag, indicating the video is an advertisement for a product, rather than an original, non-advertised video that contains, say, silly dancing. 

TikTok’s transition from a platform primarily focused on dances to one dominated by advertising and e-commerce signifies the growing influence of digital platforms in shaping consumer behavior. As an aspiring business owner, I see the value TikTok has created in developing a digital space to easily advertise products to insanely large audiences with relatively low effort, however, as a user of TikTok, I also find it quite bothersome to feel like the app is constantly bombarding me with advertisements when I really just want to see the dances!

References

https://whatsthebigdata.com/tiktok-statistics/