Consumption is increasing on TikTok

On the Chinese social network, we consume content en masse, but we also spend more and more money on it. Facebook Instagram, TikTok has not been able to launch in-stream commerce tools to sell goods on it until today. However, consumption is booming on the platform and users are spending more and more; not for physical products, but to pay content creators.

This is a ”new” economic model that pays off big. According to a report signed The Information, TikTok users paid the equivalent of $250 million in digital gifts to streamers in the third quarter of 2023. To make a long story short, during live videos on the application, users reward the creators they follow by purchasing virtual rewards.

The trend is impressive, because some designers seem to get real income from it. For some observers, this is not a sustainable trend, but such a thing remains impossible to predict. Young Internet users are comfortable with spending in this way and, if products are sold via in-stream stores, the act of purchase will only be more natural for them.

Plans for the future…

For TikTok, this is obviously a step towards the implementation of e-commerce tools. Among our British neighbors, the social network has recently presented a new feature called “Trendy Beat”. A shopping tab allowing you to sell products live and compete with Shein or Amazon. The goal is to offer the best shopping experience by mastering the consumer journey from start to finish: one-click purchase, fast delivery…

For now, Asian countries, including China, seem to be the most open to buying products directly from social networks. In the rest of the world, the main obstacle is above all the distrust of consumers and authorities with regard to social platforms. Meta has been making efforts for years and X has a new e-commerce strategy, but overall the Western public still prefers to go through retailers and sites that reassure them.

We can imagine that in future years the trend will reverse, but first we will have to solve the problems related to scams and scams on social networks. On paper, the simplified purchase directly from our favorite applications is a good thing. It still needs to be controlled and regulated in one way or another, because, depending on the audience, this can quickly lead to overconsumption.

In the meantime, TikTok could move up a gear soon with the integration of services like food delivery. An activity already available on the Chinese market with Douyin.