The numbers behind TikTok Shop
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TikTok was once known as the social media app associated with short viral dances, a young generation of creators and trending sounds. Being one of the first platforms to focus solely on short-form video, TikTok’s never-ending feed of a perfectly curated algorithm was ironically capturing the attention of those with decreasing attention spans.
Alongside the increasing power of relatable influencers and brand ambassadors on the app, TikTok quickly became a platform where users could go and see popular product reviews, demonstrations of how to use products and hauls from their favourite brands.
TikTok saw the opportunity behind the success of this natural user-generated content and launched the TikTok Shop in late 2021 for the UK, and in September 2023 for the US.
This allowed e-commerce brands to both organically and pay to reach a huge user base, allowing users to immediately purchase the products they were seeing on the app. Paired with the live streaming element on the platform, often offering time-sensitive discounts, TikTok Shop offers huge benefits to brands, creators, affiliates and users.
TikTok continues to be a huge influence and game changer in the social commerce space, so let’s take a look at the stats covering:
- TikTok demographics
- User behaviour
- Growth of the platform
- TikTok shop stats
- Brands finding success on TikTok shop
- Influencers on TikTok Shop
- Live TikTok shopping
TikTok stats
Demographics on TikTok
While the below stats do indicate that there are high percentages of younger audiences on TikTok, a percentage as small as 14% still equates to around 18 million people. When looking at demographics, it’s important to understand that the TikTok algorithm is programmed to put user interests first. It’s less about how old you are and more about what you’re interested in, which creates niche communities of users, and different ‘sides’ of TikTok.
- TikTok has 1.59 million monthly active users, the fifth largest social network behind Facebook, YouTube, Instagram and Whatsapp.
- The US has the largest TikTok audience, with 135 million unique monthly users
- The 2025 Sprout Social Index reveals 58% of their users have TikTok accounts
- And 82% of Gen Z surveyed are on TikTok
- 76% of 18-24 year-olds in the US have TikTok
- 14% of 55-64 year-olds in the US have TikTok
- Over 40% of the UK TikTok audience is 18-24 years old
(Sources: Profile Tree, Sprout Social)
TikTok user behaviour
The easy-scroll format of highly targeted videos on the ‘For You’ page, means that users can find themselves scrolling for multiple hours every day. TikTok isn’t just being used as a social app to get lost in funny videos, but people are now using it as a search engine. From discovering new recipes to researching holidays, user behaviour on the app is changing, with many going straight to the search bar within seconds of opening the app. Users are also actively shopping on TikTok, more of which we will talk about later.
- The average user spends over 24 hours every month on TikTok
- Users spend a collective 4.8 billion minutes watching TikTok videos every day.
- The average user engagement rate is 2.5% by follower count
(Sources: Statista, Sprout Social, Social Insider)
The growth of TikTok
TikTok launched in 2016, and has been one of the fastest growing social media apps every since, with over 3 billion downloads on the app store. Many people started using TikTok as the global pandemic in 2020 came around, however the below stats suggest growth was already on a steep trajectory.
- TikTok has been downloaded 693 million times in 2019
- TikTok has been downloaded 850 million times in 2020
- 2.35 billion users are estimated to be active on the app in 2029
- 16,000 videos are uploaded every minute
- 960,000 videos are uploaded every hour
- 23 million videos are uploaded every day
- ByteDance generated $73 billion in 6 months in 2024
- TikTok is estimated ot generate $34.8 billion in ad revenue by 2026
(Sources: Sprout Social, Social Insider, Greenbook, TikTok Newsroom)
TikTok shop stats
What is the TikTok shop?
TikTok shop is a social commerce platform only available in the TikTok app. Purchases can be made in a variety of ways, using the shopping tab, the video feed or using the search function.
TikTok has secure and strict policies for both sellers and buyers to ensure a seamless purchase journey, including secure third party checkout, return policies and shop rules.
The opportunity for brands on TikTok Shop is much bigger and more enticing compared to other social platforms like Instagram and Facebook. This is because the ‘For You’ Page algorithm prioritises great content itself, not the number of followers. Content is fed to users based on what they have previously engaged with and what other similar users are also engaging with. The algorithm learns very quickly too, with users finding themselves on different ‘sides’ of TikTok, for example, hiking TikTok, or dog training TikTok. These niche communities are fed content extremely specific to their watching habits and engagement, causing really high conversion rates and hashtags like #TikTokmademebuyit.
Brands that know their niche and market themselves using this, are even more likely to find themselves in front of their audience on TikTok.
Who is shopping on TikTok?
TikTok shop has essentially dismantled the traditional buyer journey. For the majority of products on the platform, the user can go from discovery to reviews, videos, discounts, and live shopping to an informed purchase in a matter of minutes.
In 2024, 81.3% of TikTok shoppers were actually existing customers which was up from 64% in 2023. This suggest that customers are returning and happy with their orders, eventually using TikTok as a trusted retailer of theirs.
As the number of customers on the app rises, so is the average number of minutes each user spends on there too. Platforms like YouTube and Netflix are seeing a drop in their average user watch time, with Amazon Prime and TikTok gaining these minutes.
- 37% of Americans under 60 have purchased something on TikTok shop
- Average purchase in the US is $59
- 54% of GenZ are likely to turn to TikTok for their social media purchasing
- 47% of Millenials are likely to turn to TikTok for their social media purchasing
- In 2024, there were an estimated 47.2 million social media shoppers on TikTok
- The number of TikTok shoppers is estimated to grow 5.91% annually to 55.6 million by 2027
- By 2027, an estimated 45.9% of users will purchase through the platform.
(Sources: Sprout Social, Capital One, Forbes, Earnest Analytics)
Brands that sell well on TikTok
Too many brands shy away, presuming that their audience isn’t on TikTok, but looking at the users and demographics on TikTok, it’s clear to see that almost every e-commerce brand with the right strategy could see success on TikTok.
Many of the current brands on TikTok sit in the Lifestyle, beauty and fashion industry.
Looking at the beauty industry specifically, there are two key brands that come to mind when showing the power that TikTok has had, Made by Mitchell and P.Louise. Both have has record-breaking LIVE session with Made by Mitchell, who made £1 million in 24 hours, and P. Louise, who made £1.5 million in 12 hours.
Made by Mitchell joined the TikTok shop in March 2022, just a few months after it launched in the UK, being one of the first brands to take the leap and make the most of the highly engaged #BeautyTok audience. With a focus on unconventional makeup looks and bold colours, MBM saw huge success in the first few months on TikTok, with x4 the amount of followers in just the first 3 months, 10.5 million impressions on Live video campaigns and a 106% increase in sales.
Looking at the type of products that are most popular, it is clear to see why customers are repeat purchasers, as fast fashion is one of the top categories. Fashion trends specifically are changing on a weekly and monthly basis, meaning lower-priced and discounted clothing items sell extremely well on TikTok shop. It’s no surprise that fast fashion retailers Shein and Temu share the most customers with TikTok Shop, 28% and 25%, respectively.
Wellness brands also seem to do well on TikTok, with 81% of US TikTok Shop sales from beauty, health, skincare and bodycare categories.
While the TikTok shop is heavily associated with cheap discounted items, it doesn’t mean that brands on the more pricey end of the scale can’t also see success on the platform. After initial reluctance, retailer Luxe Collective who sells Hermes and Chanel products, have had to reconsider the priority of opening up more physical stores due to the success they have seen on TikTok.
- There are over 200,000 businesses active on TikTok shop from the UK
- In 2024, there were over 500,000 merchants on TikTok shop from the US
- 54% of users engage with brand content at least once to multiple times a day
- 30% of users engage with content at least once a week
- Beauty and personal care products are the top-selling category, with 370 million units sold globally last year
- LIVE shopping sessions in the UK have increased by over 64% in the past 12 months
- Every day, there are around 5,000 LIVE shopping sessions on TikTok shop
- Record-breaking LIVE session stats include Made by Mitchell, who made £1 million in 24 hours, and P. Louise, who made £1.5 million in 12 hours
(Sources: Sprout Social, Channel X, TikTok Newsroom)
TikTok Shop and Influencers
Partnering with TikTok influencers involves getting content creators to make short form videos, promoting your brand for a fee. TikTok influencers have a huge impact on TikTok Shop and can bring both organic and paid traffic to your products.
Brands that use influencers to promote their products have unlocked a way to not come across as being ‘salesy’, while gaining brand trust through social signals.
You may think that using influencers to market your brand might be too expensive or involve a lot of wasted spend. But if you can find your niche and a nano/micro influencer with an audience who is highly targeted to your demographic, then marketing your products through them could be extremely effective. These types of influencer often have deeper connections and trust with their audience too.
- Lifestyle industry accounts are the most popular, and account for 8.26 million posts from influencers
- This is followed by beauty accounts at 4.94 million and fashion accounts at 3.06 million
- There is a strong correlation between nano-influencers (1,000-10,000 followers) and higher engagement rates compared to macro-influencers (100,000-1M followers)
- Influencer pricing sits at around $10 per post per 1,000 followers for a sponsored post
Live shopping is the way forward
Live video streaming is popular on most social media apps, however, the integration with TikTok shop is more or less coming full circle with QVC TV shopping. TikTok Live gives users time-sensitive discounts and product demonstrations, creating a sense of urgency and high conversion rates.
Live Shopping is also a great way to get immediate feedback from your audience, such as FAQs. It creates a two-way communication, making viewers feel active in the conversation.
- 50% of users make a purchase after watching a TikTok Live
- TikTok Live prompts 50% of active users to purchase something
(Source: Root)
The power of TikTok shop
Brands have a platform to specifically target their niche communities, benefit from organic user-generated content, and don’t have to fight biased algorithms or have large following numbers. Users get to see real product reviews, benefit from discounted prices, and have a seamless experience from discovery to purchase.
As we can see with the stats, TikTok have created a social commerce space that is growing year on year and doesn’t look to be stopping soon.
Impressed by these stats? If you want your brand to have a bigger presence on TikTok and are thinking about using it to sell your products, then get in touch with one of our team today.
