An infinite loop of shoppertainment: TikTok's e-commerce path to purchase

E-commerce is no longer the future of shopping—it is shopping. In this new landscape, brands must keep up with consumers' ever-changing online shopping behaviors—and TikTok is at the forefront of this new era. We recently partnered with research firm Material to understand TikTok's role in the e-commerce consumer journey on a global level.¹ The results of the study show the strong impact that TikTok has along the e-commerce path to purchase and how it's helping drive sales.

How TikTok's infinite loop powers sales throughout the purchase journey

Earlier this year, we introduced TikTok's unique retail path to purchase,which is unlike the linear funnel that marketers are used to—it's an infinite loop. This loop is powered by our users, who turn to TikTok at every stage of their purchase journeys: from discovering new products and brands, to making purchases, to creating entertaining content that drives post-purchase engagement.

Now, we're expanding the loop outside the retail path to purchase to see how it translates into e-commerce.

E-commerce is driven by speed and convenience

To understand TikTok's influence on the e-commerce journey, let's first look at the e-commerce landscape as a whole. We're seeing now that shoppers turn to online shopping for its simple and immediate gratification. With 41% of shoppers buying online for speed and 30% buying online for convenience, the study shows that compared to traditional media, e-commerce shopping habits actually accelerate the buying journey, making online shoppers more likely than retail shoppers to make day-of purchases.¹

Compared to online marketplaces, e-commerce on social and video platforms is still emerging, but the study shows that shoppers who are purchasing directly from those platforms are more likely to buy immediately and to say that these purchases bring them joy.¹

TikTok is at the center of shoppertainment

Shoppable entertainment—or as we like to call it, "shoppertainment"—is what makes TikTok stand out against a crowded landscape, as our platform is 40% more likely to be considered entertaining than traditional social platforms.¹ With the platform's unique role as a powerhouse for entertaining content, it’s no wonder that 1 in 3 consumers surveyed have already turned to TikTok in their e-commerce journeys.¹

And the power of entertainment as an e-commerce driver translates to every stage of the infinite loop. When TikTok is a part of the e-commerce journey, users are able discover new products and brands within the natural flow of the in-app experience.

Additionally, the study shows that TikTok users are twice as likely to create content about a product or brand that they've purchased.¹ A good example of this is niche communities such as #booktok and #gamergirl are bound together by specific interests, with passionate users sharing purchases and creating content that inspires others. By connecting with the community through content creation, our users are inspiring purchases, building trust and driving authentic connections.

For brands, the e-commerce opportunity on TikTok is rooted in entertainment

With so many people turning to TikTok organically for product discovery, research and reviews, the opportunity is clear: our users don’t want TikTok to simply show up in their e-commerce journeys—they want TikTok to be the e-commerce journey. According to the study, 61% of TikTok users have engaged in e-commerce behaviors on the platform, 56% of users are already using the platform to discover new products or brands, and nearly half of users are open to making a purchase through TikTok in the next few months.²