The Future of TikTok Shop: Expert Predictions & Trends

We’ve explored TikTok Shop as an acquisition channel, how to source creators effectively, collaboration and community-building, the enticing world of TikTok Live, and measuring and scaling the success of your affiliate program.

But TikTok Shop—just like social commerce itself—is rapidly evolving channel where the only constant is change. Right now, there’s an undeniable uncertainty hanging over the platform, due to its potential ban in the United States. However, the key lessons and strategies that influencer marketers have learned from building successful creator communities will not go to waste.

At its core, TikTok Shop is about fostering genuine connections between brands and creators. So while TikTok Shop may have led the first inning of social commerce, other players including Shopify, Youtube, and Meta are not far behind. 👀 The most successful influencer marketers on the platform have invested heavily in building loyal, engaged communities that transcend any single channel.

So, what does the future hold for TikTok Shop? What should brands and influencer marketers be preparing for as we head into 2025? Let’s hear directly from our TikTok Shop experts:

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Jonathan Snow: “Social commerce: The writing is on the wall. This is the new way to go about finding user generated content creators and scaling.”

TikTok Shop might have gotten a head start on the affiliate game, but other social platforms are making inroads. YouTube has already started an upmarket affiliate offering, while the market at large is anticipating a large scale return by Meta. But unless creators are flocking to TikTok at the same velocity that established names are joining the platform, brands may be forced to look outside of TikTok Shop for greener pastures.

The big takeaway for influencer marketers in light of a possible TikTok ban? Use TikTok Shop as an educational exercise for how to make social commerce work; these learnings will be applicable to channels outside of TikTok Shop as they grow. Even if your brand wasn’t an early adopter of TikTok Shop, you’ll be well-positioned to have a headstart on the next big channel!

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Dan Albert: “This isn't about like where consumers are purchasing. It's about where they're spending the time when it comes to engaging with social content.”

For Dan, TikTok's future trajectory is not about capturing purchases, but positioning itself as THE premier social commerce platform—especially in light of potential forced sale to a U.S. entity.

TikTok has been able to attract creators at scale because they have excelled at three major value-adds: audience growth, high engagement and the ability to monetize content quickly. But the long-term success of TikTok Shop relies heavily on consumers, creators, and brands seeing TikTok as a place that’s worth investing their time.

As TikTok makes the transition from pre-recorded video to live streaming, this unique intersection of content, community, and commerce activity is bringing them in line with other major eCommerce players. TikTok Shop and Amazon’s recent partnership (not to mention Amazon’s potential purchase of TikTok) has the power to completely reshape how consumers discover and purchase products online, giving the platform even more influence over global shopping habits and consumption.

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Oliver Silzer: “I'm really excited about bringing the future experts within our partner programs that are going to help brands and creators find the success on the platform.”

As TikTok Shop grows, its priority is ensuring that brands and creators feel set up for success on the platform—and that means TikTok investing in the right technology partnerships to help sellers succeed.

So-called “TikTok forward" brands have been pivotal in proving TikTok Shop's viability as a social commerce channel beyond single SKUs or viral moments. But as more established companies migrate to the platform, TikTok’s ability to support these brands will depend on it developing the right APIs and sharing tactical knowledge on how to be successful on the platform.

These APIs enable partners like Superfiliate to develop proprietary features that make it even more seamless to build and run TikTok Shop affiliate programs. Everything from discovering creators to dedicated reporting can be streamlined so influencer marketers can identify what’s working can scale their program.

How does TikTok benefit from this partner ecosystem? Their team gets to build a stronger playbook for success and work collaboratively with those partners and agencies to package these insights into the right toolkits and resources (just like this one!)

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Pontus Karlsson: “It will become more of a standard way to shop for more generations.”

As more legacy brands dip their toe in the water of TikTok Shop, more diverse consumer demographics are finding their way to the platform that haven’t previously engaged with social commerce—and this will have a lasting impact on ecommerce shopping habits outside of TikTok.

Seeing familiar brands and products will boost consumer confidence and give people more incentive to experiment with TikTok Shop for everyday purchases. And as more diverse product categories join the platform and make it more viable for habitual shopping, we can expect to see a halo affect on other social commerce platforms as they emerge.

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Amanda Young: “Whatever TikTok offers you to participate in, you should participate in.”

One of the biggest challenges that influencer marketers will face on TikTok Shop going forward? Keeping pace with how the platform is evolving and how to position your brand at the forefront. This is where aligning with the platform’s own initiatives and marketing campaigns offers the best opportunity to prepare for the future of TikTok Shop.

Participating in TikTok-led programs such as live selling events, holiday campaigns, and leveraging the latest affiliate tools enables brands to gain favor with the platform and get more visibility and support. Going “all-in” means you are positioned for long-term success!

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Micah Whitehead: “They are bought into how can we walk in legacy brands and make it a little bit more diversified in who can win on this platform.”

When TikTok Shop first launched in 2023, there was a specific product profile that really took off; highly discounted, low-AOV products designed to hook in deal-motivated consumers.

However, this narrow profile undermines efforts to grow the legitimacy of social commerce. For TikTok Shop to attract more high-spending consumers, it needs to host more brands and products that consumers trust and see elsewhere on other channels.

To encourage more established brands to embrace the platform, TikTok is already shifting its focus to incentivize listing higher AOV products. One example is the introduction of free shipping on products with higher price points, making it more attractive to list prestige items on TikTok Shop.

Legacy brands are also being encouraged to run significant promotions on TikTok Shop, enabling them to introduce products to new and engaged audiences. Categories such as skincare, beauty, and personal care are set to be the major winners here in 2025 and beyond.

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Brittany Barnes: “If you as a brand can hone your TikTok Live studio, your community, your affiliates, and make it feel like a place that people want to be, that's going to be the biggest thing for a brand.”

While there are brands who’ve found success on TikTok Shop by winging it, it’s the exception rather than the rule. As the platform gets more crowded, going in with a defined strategy will be vital for brands carve out a unique identity for themselves.

This means going HARD on community building and maintaining a strong organic presence, if you want to stay at the forefront of TikTok Shop—or any social commerce platform.

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Korina Sanchez: “I think TikTok will sit as its own individualized social media channel, and maybe even be thought of as a third-party marketplace.”

Revenue attribution has been an absolute game-changer for TikTok Shop, turning it from an entertainment hub into genuine commerce-driven channel that brands can measure and optimize.

For Korina, this makes TikTok Shop more than just a facet of a larger social or paid media strategy; it’s a dedicated channel that’s only going to pick up more momentum as established brands join—and that means building out a dedicated strategy.

TikTok Shop offers its own distinct culture and spin on creator content that’s geared toward direct sales, rather than awareness. To really win on the platform in the years to come, influencer marketers need to think ecosystem-first, rather than channel-first.

TikTok Shop was the first off the starting line—it’s doubled down on social commerce ahead of other platforms and provided an open environment for creators to collaborate and monetize their content.

And while a potential U.S. ban presents a significant hurdle, it also serves as a powerful reminder of the importance of building resilient creator strategies.

The most successful brands on TikTok Shop have always been those that prioritize community and connection. By fostering genuine relationships with creators, these companies have built loyal audiences that will follow them across platforms and channels—no matter what the future of TikTok Shop brings.

A possible TikTok ban also underscores the risk of relying too heavily on any single channel to build revenue. Remember: Your successes at scaling TikTok Shop will not be isolated to that one channel; as social commerce grows, your brand will be able to apply this wisdom in the building of new programs and partnerships at new frontiers of influencer marketing and ecommerce—all you need to do is get started!