The news: TikTok Shop’s US gross merchandise value surged past $500 million during the four-day stretch from Black Friday to Cyber Monday, driven by a nearly 50% increase in the number of consumers making a purchase.
While TikTok didn’t share a YoY comparison, last year it reported $100 million in sales on Black Friday alone, underscoring how quickly its commerce engine is scaling.
Zooming in: Livestream shopping was a major catalyst.
- Brands and sellers hosting livestreams saw 84% sales growth compared with last year’s four-day period, as shoppers tuned into more than 760,000 livestream sessions, generating 1.6 billion views.
- Livestream shopping is also attracting bigger brands and higher-wattage influencers, giving the format added reach and credibility. For example, Kim Kardashian hosted her first LIVE on December 3, featuring exclusive deals, giveaways, and limited-time bundles to create urgency and drive conversions.
- TikTok is hardly the only platform finding success with livestream shopping over the holidays; shoppers spent over $75 million on live shopping platform Whatnot on Black Friday, roughly three times last year’s total, the company told EMARKETER. The surge underscores the format’s rapid ascent and growing consumer comfort with buying directly from live content.
Our take: The holiday sales data is the latest sign that TikTok Shop is scaling at breakneck speed. We expect it to generate $15.82 billion in US retail ecommerce revenues this year, up 108% over last year.
And with 28% of US and UK consumers turning to social platforms like TikTok for holiday shopping inspiration, that momentum is helping the platform attract more listings from household-name brands—including Ralph Lauren, Samsung US, and the Disney Store—looking to tap into TikTok Shop’s fast-expanding reach and high-conversion formats. The trends suggest TikTok Shop appears poised to claim an even bigger share of future holiday spending.