• by Colin Kirkland , November 13, 2024

In line with its recent holiday pushes, TikTok is continuing to prioritize its in-app livestream shopping initiatives this upcoming season with various in-app celebrity-led shopping experiences, as well as exclusive sales and discounts from major brands.

Similar to its fall promotions launch, TikTok is using deals and celebrity-led experiences to garner interest around in-stream shipping among U.S. consumers as the ByteDance-owned company tries to grow its U.S. Shop business to $17.5 billion by the end of the year.

Between November 13 and December 2, encompassing both Black Friday and Cyber Monday, TikTok Shop will be calling upon the app's most successful creators to host live shopping events. For example, the D’Amelio Family will be featuring products from their own footwear company on November 14 and Nicki Minaj will be selling products from her brand Pink Friday Nails on November 24.

The company will also be using its live ecommerce format to showcase a range of major brands and discounts for curious users looking for an immersive shopping experience as well as holiday deals.

“Brand Palooza,” which will run from November 13-28, will feature TikTok Shop experiences from brands like Phillips, Maybelline NY, Benefit Cosmetics, Liquid IV, HeyDude, Fenty Beauty, and The Ordinary Store, with deals up to 55% off.

To help persuade customers who are new to live shopping, TikTok says it will also be extending the return window for purchases made during the event, allowing shoppers to return items through February 10.

Compared to its Chinese counterpart Douyin, TikTok Shop is nowhere near as popular or profitable (Douyin generated over $500 billion in product sales last year), but it has shown increased spending over the past couple of years, growing 15% year-over-year in 2023.

And as it attempts to gain widespread adoption, TikTok Shop has begun to cut into ecommerce giants’ overall ad revenue.

According to Sensor Tower, TikTok represented 5% of Amazon ad spend in Q3 2024 vs. 4% the year prior.

The company's ecommerce effort has also sparked competition within the social-media space, with every leading social platform including YouTube, Pinterest, Snapchat, and Meta's family of apps now building out their own social commerce initiatives, marking a new way for brands to sell as the holiday season arrives.