At a panel and brand event in New York last week, TikTok Shop announced ahead of Black Friday and Cyber Monday its partnership with Venmo.
With the announcement, on TikTok Shop U.S. customers who purchase for the first time from Nov. 30 to Dec. 2 can receive 25 percent off when they spend $45 — for a maximum of $20 off — by selecting Venmo as their payment. For users who have previously purchased on the platform, shoppers can receive 25 percent off when they spend $85 — for a maximum of $35 off — when selecting Venmo as their checkout method.
“Our collaboration with TikTok Shop reflects our shared commitment to community and commerce and demonstrates Venmo’s desire to help customers shop in new and innovative ways,” Alexis Sowa, vice president and general manager of Venmo told WWD. “TikTok Shop is a destination for community-driven discovery, where shoppers can connect and find holiday gifts and essentials for all their needs. We’re thrilled to support the shopping experience with another safe and seamless checkout option along with exclusive deals to make your money go further when you pay with Venmo.”
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During the panel in New York, which was hosted by Nicolas Le Bourgeois, head of U.S. operations at TikTok Shop and Kelsie Johnston, head of beauty and personal care at TikTok Shop, the executives discussed the upcoming holiday season and how consumers are leading the conversation to shape the future of e-commerce — pointing to the hashtag #TikTokMadeMeBuyIt contributing to a major cultural shift in how people are shopping.
Bourgeois and Johnston also noted that the in-app e-commerce platform is leveling the playing field as a bolstering of small businesses, creators and hobbies. The rise of TikTok Shop livestreaming has also become a new interactive way for shoppers to interact with brands and their founders. The method has already been proven in China; it gained popularity during the pandemic and estimates put the amount of goods sold in China via livestream shopping at more than $500 billion in 2023.
Notable beauty and retail brands in attendance at the TikTok Shop event were August, BK Beauty, Blackline Car Care, Canvas Beauty, Comfrt, I Love Chamoy, Mavwicks Fragrances, Peter Thomas Roth, Prime Bites, The Beachwaver and The Face Shop. While the brands touch upon a vast landscape of markets, niches and consumer fan bases, they all agree that being visible on the social platform has helped their brands’ products become fan favorites — not just with Generation Z — and go viral.
Peter Thomas Roth Instant FirmX eye cream is just one example of the social media platform turning virility into sales. In 2021, TikToker @trinidad1967 used the eye cream and received an eye-watering nearly 50 million views and helped the product continue to be a sold-out staple — the brand later reached out to her, gave her more products and she is part of the Peter Thomas Roth affiliate program.
Another example is The Face Shop’s viral Mucin Peptide 8 serum — the company now has a vegan exclusive version available on TikTok Shop. TikToker @edwardzo video used the new vegan product in a video that racked in more than 8.4 million videos and @missdarcei’s received more than 1.4 million views.
In conversation with Johnston was Stormi Steele, founder and chief executive officer of Canvas Beauty; Annie Leal, founder and CEO of I Love Chamoy and Steven King, TikTok content creator and influencer @Bytpep — who all raved about their experiences with TikTok Shop. Steele has become a major player within the TikTok Shop space and has racked up millions in sales from her shopping livestreams — with both Leal and King expressing their admiration for Steele’s brand becoming a case study for success on the platform.
According to TikTok Shop, the upcoming Black Friday and Cyber Monday will feature its upcoming holiday campaign, “Brand Palooze,” running from Nov. 13 to 27 with product offers from brands such as Phillips, Benefit Cosmetics, Liquid I.V., Hey Dude and The Ordinary — deals from brands who took off on the social media app will also be giving out exclusive deals. The in-app social e-commerce platform is set to host a series of livestreams, hinting that prominent figures and celebrities will be featured.
The platform also recently publicly published its Intellectual Property Rights report, with its findings from July 2023 to June 2024. The report said TikTok has banned more than 5 million products from going out to consumers and revoked more than 30,000 TikTok Shop creator and influencer selling permissions, which are just some of the investments the social media app has taken to ensure shoppers, merchants and brands are providing a safe experience on the platform.
TikTok Shop said they are focusing on helping its sellers and creators to achieve success through its Affiliate app — which simplifies the outreach between brands, sellers and creators to reach wider audiences and sales growth. To strengthen the relationship between the three, TikTok Shop is hosting a series of seller-creator matchmaking events in Los Angeles and New York ahead of the holiday sales season.
