We have experimented with TikTok Shops but have often found it underwhelming. Anecdotally, I typically see branded product sold under various seller names and ALWAYS has a TikTok heavily discounted price. Just take a look at the below for Bombas socks. Considerable volume yet not sold by the formal brand always with an attached coupon.

Per The Information, major brands are on the platform but the site is only handling $10 million in sales per day. To put that into perspective, that’s 11 minutes of sales on Amazon.

“Despite the complaints, TikTok Shop in the U.S. was handling more than $10 million in sales a day by February this year, according to a current employee.

Employees have privately debated how to balance pursuing high-end brands and optimizing for order volume through TikTok’s stand-alone Shop tab, which includes more cheap, cross-border sellers, The Information has reported.

On Tuesday, Levine pointed to Estée Lauder and Mattel as major brands TikTok has brought on board for e-commerce. TikTok is also in talks to bring on major book publishers who are hoping to capitalize on the popularity of BookTok, Levine said.”