American consumers turned to TikTok Shop in droves this holiday season, spending heavily on the platform despite ongoing threats of a U.S. ban on its parent company, ByteDance. According to TikTok and third-party data from Facteus, spending on TikTok Shop surpassed rivals like Shein and Temu in the week leading up to Cyber Monday, further solidifying its place in the U.S. e-commerce market.
TikTok Shop, launched in September 2023, has gained significant traction as a marketplace for brands like e.l.f. Cosmetics and Ninja Kitchen. In a press release, the platform revealed it reached $100 million in sales on Black Friday alone, a record-breaking performance that underscores its growing popularity among American shoppers.
“TikTok Shop is a new distribution channel, and brands are doing really well on it,” said Erik Huberman, CEO of Hawke Media. “It’s unmatched in its ability to convert social media engagement into direct sales. Losing it would mean a significant revenue hit for merchants.”
For shoppers like Jasmine Whaley, 31, of York, Pennsylvania, TikTok Shop offers a curated experience that rivals established e-commerce giants. “TikTok has cracked the code on showing me exactly what I want to buy,” said Whaley, who has spent nearly $700 this year on the platform. She also praised the faster delivery times compared to Amazon.
The platform’s innovative use of live shopping sessions, known as “LIVE,” allows merchants and influencers to sell directly to viewers during real-time broadcasts. TikTok Shop’s U.S. head of operations, Nico Le Bourgeois, noted that the number of live sessions has tripled in the past year, highlighting the feature’s effectiveness.
However, this growth comes as ByteDance faces mounting pressure from the U.S. government. On Friday, a federal appeals court upheld a law requiring ByteDance to divest TikTok’s U.S. operations by early 2025 or face a nationwide ban. Such a ban could extend to TikTok Shop, leaving merchants and influencers scrambling for alternatives.
As ByteDance navigates these legal challenges, TikTok Shop’s rapid rise serves as a testament to the platform’s ability to integrate e-commerce with social media seamlessly. Whether it can maintain this momentum amid regulatory hurdles remains to be seen.
