The Facts
TikTok’s e-commerce service, TikTok Shop, has officially launched in the US, the company announced in a blog post Tuesday, as it looks to bring online shopping to its 150M American users.
The popular social media platform has been testing its online marketplace since August and has added a “Shop Tab” to its app. It has also put affiliate videos in user feeds that will allow creators to earn commissions from products and created a logistics arm called Fulfilled by TikTok.
The Spin
Narrative A
TikTok is one of the most powerful social media platform in the world, and it is the future of any industry it chooses to enter. TikTok Shop will change the landscape of e-commerce since it has the built-in access to Gen Z that many other platforms lack. It has carefully ironed out the logistics to create an e-commerce platform that is easy to use and links buyers and sellers like never before.
Narrative B
TikTok Shop might not be the smashing success many anticipate it to be as there are many kinks the company needs to iron out before it can fully take advantage of its large pool of users. While it may be growing amongst certain groups, social commerce doesn’t account for a large percentage of total online shopping sales, and it could take quite some time for it to be a dominant part of e-commerce.
