TikTok Shop is taking over users’ “For You” pages. Since its launch in September 2023, TikTok’s major push to integrate it into the app has made it unavoidable when using TikTok.
“It’s pretty much everywhere on TikTok. You can go on your “For You” page, and you’ll see a lot of ads for TikTok Shop,” senior Luke Holmes said.
It has something for everyone when it comes to creators and businesses, but the extreme levels of advertising have somewhat taken over the app. It can be used by companies on their own “Shop Pages” where they can display and sell their products. It is also used by creators through “Shoppable Videos,” which is the kind of advertisement that I most often see. With TikTok Live, creators can also promote products live through “LIVE Shopping.” Lastly, TikTok also displays a “Shop” tab at the top of the app next to users’ “For You” and “Following” page tabs where you would find regular content. It’s everywhere, and I find the amount of advertising on TikTok to be overwhelming. The reason it works so well is because it’s convenient. The easy use of TikTok Shop has definitely contributed to its success. TikTok also provides users with many sales and deals to encourage users to purchase from TikTok Shop.
“It’s probably become popular because it’s cheap, and a cool way to order stuff. It’s easier. You can just be using your social media app and scrolling and then find something you’re interested in that you can see [would be] helpful and order it,” Holmes said.
TikTok is an app that many people visit for recommendations, whether it be restaurants, recipes, beauty products and all kinds of things. This is one reason why I find TikTok to be so fun. As opposed to “Googling” something, TikTok allows you to see real people’s opinions directly from them.
After the launch of TikTok Shop I’ve found this aspect of TikTok to be less reliable and make the app less enjoyable overall. Now that so many creators are being paid to sell products, it is all the more challenging to tell whether or not their endorsement is worthy of trust.
The accessibility of TikTok Shop is very tempting, but it is unique compared to other online shopping tools like Amazon or Temu because it relies majorly on creators to promote products. This is the kind of advertising that is most often integrated into users’ typical feeds. Creators who are eligible for the program can promote affiliate products in TikTok videos and TikTok Lives to earn commissions. TikTok advertisements are a big way for creators to earn money off of TikTok without relying on the Creator Program or external brand deals. This revenue possibility for creators can cause distrust between average users and creators. This distrust also weakens the credibility of products.
“They probably don’t trust a lot of this stuff coming out of TikTok Shop, which I didn’t at first either. But once I saw that it actually came in the mail and the stuff worked, I started trusting it. But sometimes I do use stuff, and I started thinking, ‘I have to make sure this stuff is safe,’” Holmes said.