TikTok made its name from viral trends and creator storytelling, but it’s quickly becoming something else — a place where scrolling turns into spending. Its in-app marketplace, TikTok Shop, lets users buy products directly from videos and livestreams. Retailers from Ralph Lauren to Crocs are jumping in to capture that demand.
TikTok Shop pulled in $4.9 billion in U.S. sales in the first quarter, nearly doubling from a year earlier, according to Charm.io, as reported by the Wall Street Journal.
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“You want to be where the consumer is, and increasingly, that’s obviously on social media and online,” Olivia Tong, a managing director at Raymond James, told The Wall Street Journal.
Retailers may be chasing the coveted 14-29 Gen Z demographic, but the real twist is that the fastest-growing spenders on TikTok Shop aren’t the younger users. According to data from Consumer Edge reported in The Wall Street Journal, spending on TikTok Shop is growing the most among those over 45 (1).
Brands are adapting
Brands aren’t just experimenting with TikTok Shop, some are building entire sales engines on it.
Haircare company Olaplex is one example. The brand first gained traction on the platform through tutorials and educational content, using short-form videos to explain how its products repair and strengthen damaged hair. Now, it’s doubling down on that approach, but with a more direct path to checkout.
“Instead of having to leave TikTok Shop and go to our [website] or someplace else, they are able to purchase immediately,” Olaplex CFO Catherine Dunleavy told The Wall Street Journal.
The push comes at a critical time. Olaplex has faced growing competition and a prolonged sales slowdown, with net sales declining in 10 of the past 12 quarters — though they did edge up 4.3% in the most recent quarter. Following its planned acquisition by Henkel, the brand is betting that TikTok Shop can help reignite growth (2).
“My expectation is that over time, it will be an incremental revenue driver,” Dunleavy said.
The broader numbers suggest that the bet isn’t unfounded. By the end of 2025, TikTok Shop had grown into an approximately $15.8-billion U.S. e-commerce business, according to eMarketer (3). Overall, U.S. social commerce reached an estimated $87.02 billion that year, rising more than 20% year over year (4).
As spending on the platform leans toward older users, brands are finding that content built around education, trust and product benefits — not just viral moments — can convert more effectively.
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Users aren’t just buying — they’re building businesses
Entrepreneurs are finding success on TikTok Shop with relatively low upfront costs — sometimes little more than a smartphone and a stable Wi-Fi connection. Luke Arnel Cameron, the founder of cleaning company Yass Clean, for instance, launched his business in late 2024 without a warehouse or significant ad spend.
The company’s first livestream did 70,000 GBP in sales, he told Forbes, and it processed 650,000 orders in its first year (5).
Growth is strong but questions remain
TikTok Shop’s rapid rise hasn’t come without friction. While its U.S. operations were stabilized earlier this year through a restructuring deal, concerns around data privacy haven’t fully faded (6). Some consumers remain hesitant to share payment information on an app tied to the Chinese parent company ByteDance.
There are also questions about how sustainable the model is. Analysts warn that TikTok’s fast-paced, impulse-driven shopping environment may rely heavily on discounts to drive sales — a strategy that could squeeze margins over time and make profitability harder to maintain compared with traditional online storefronts (7).
For shoppers, the experience can be just as mixed.
TikTok Shop makes it easy to go from scrolling to spending, often with flash sales, built-in coupons and live deals that can undercut prices elsewhere. But that convenience comes with trade-offs. Most products are sold by third-party sellers, meaning quality can vary, and it’s important to check reviews before buying.
Safety and scam risks are also part of the equation. Some online marketplaces aren’t required to verify product safety, particularly for electronics, and counterfeit or misleading listings can slip through. And if something goes wrong, you’ll typically need to work directly with the seller to resolve it (8).
TikTok Shop can offer easy access and real savings, but it’s best approached like a marketplace, not a traditional retailer. Don’t let the fast-paced scrolling interface prevent you from doing your due diligence before you click “check out.”
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Article Sources
We rely only on vetted sources and credible third-party reporting. For details, see our ethics and guidelines.
The Wall Street Journal (1); Olaplex (2); eMarketer (3),(4); Forbes (5); The New York Times (6); Ilomata (7); TikTok Seller Center (8)
This article originally appeared on Moneywise.com under the title: The key to TikTok Shop’s blockbuster $4.9-billion quarter? The fastest-growing spenders aren’t Gen Z — they’re over 45
This article provides information only and should not be construed as advice. It is provided without warranty of any kind.
