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Last week, TikTok Shop officially launched in the U.S. after its prior debut for U.K. users. Practically speaking, this means TikTok scrollers can purchase products directly from a seller’s page in the app. So makeup, clothing, or cooking supplies that show up in any given TikTok video might be available to purchase on the site’s marketplace page – and TikTok has its own fulfillment centers to ship these items, in some cases.

CivicScience gauged consumer interest in TikTok Shop when it was first announced last fall and found one-quarter of users were at least ‘somewhat likely’ to use it – and they exhibited certain brand preferences. Now after its launch, adoption is already fairly high for the new e-commerce feature. Eight percent of all U.S. adults have already used TikTok Shop, with half of this camp liking it and half not liking it. Nearly as many adults (7%) intend to try it in the future. Since it’s still young, there’s growth potential in the 35% of adults who haven’t heard of it yet.

Zooming in on their target audience, three-in-ten daily and weekly TikTok users have already tried it, and nearly as many weekly TikTok users are interested in trying it. Even infrequent TikTok users are showing high adoption levels so far.

A whopping 41% of people who claim social media influences the clothing and accessories they buy ‘a lot’ have used TikTok Shop and like it, and over two-thirds of this camp have already tried it. The marketplace feature has quickly reached these users, and most intenders (17%) reside among those who say social media influences their clothing and accessories purchases ‘a little.’

But overall, experience with buying products directly on social media (through platforms like Facebook Marketplace and Instagram’s “Shop Now”) has steadily increased over the years with a brief plateau in Q2 of 2023. Rising consumer comfort with direct social media purchases should be a huge boon to TikTok as it pursues this new arena of e-commerce.

Four more insights to know about TikTok Shop:

  • Twenty-five percent of adults who shop or browse on Amazon ‘daily’ have already used TikTok Shop – and another 14% are interested in trying it.
  • Likely a proxy for age and the younger Americans who dwell on TikTok, but adults earning under $50,000 annually are the most likely to use or intend to use TikTok Shop in the future (11% have used and 9% intend to try).
  • One-quarter of early TikTok Shop users have said they were ‘very likely’ to switch primary banks within the past six months.
  • TikTok Shop users are overwhelmingly the most likely to use Yelp ‘once a week or more’ (two-thirds in this camp are also frequent Yelp users).

Curious to know more about how the latest trends in e-commerce, along with TikTok’s plan to enter the Black Friday arena, might impact your business? Book a meeting today with CivicScience to stay ahead of the curve.