The holiday shopping season has once again arrived—a period that traditionally prompts major global brands to compete for consumers’ attention with dazzling marketing strategies and irresistible deals. This year, however, the spotlight is falling on a newer frontier: TikTok Shop. After struggling in past seasons to bring high-profile, blue-chip companies onto its e-commerce platform in time for major sales events such as Black Friday and Cyber Monday, TikTok has now succeeded in attracting an impressive lineup of household names eager to test its rapidly evolving retail ecosystem. Among these newly welcomed entrants are Samsung US, Ralph Lauren, and the Disney Store. In a noteworthy move, Disney began offering items such as Mickey Mouse-themed T-shirts and plush replicas of characters from “Frozen” on November 20, marking a significant display of confidence in TikTok’s commercial potential.
To fully harness the energy of this year’s end-of-season sales rush, these corporations are deploying a diverse array of strategies aimed at maximizing consumer engagement and conversion. Their plans include time-limited flash discounts designed to trigger impulse buying, curated collections of holiday gifts tailored for last-minute shoppers, and immersive livestream selling sessions crafted to replicate the excitement and urgency of an in-store experience. While a few global companies—including the apparel retailer PacSun and electronics seller Newegg—had previously seen success by embracing TikTok Shop early on, the platform initially grew through collaborations with small and midsize businesses. These emerging entrepreneurs became TikTok sensations thanks to viral products ranging from innovative detangling brushes to quirky apparel such as pickle-jar-themed sweatshirts, which captivated audiences and spurred spontaneous purchases.
Today, the landscape is shifting rapidly. A growing contingent of influential multinational brands has decided that the time is ripe to participate in TikTok’s e-commerce ambitions. As William August, founder of the social-commerce agency Outlandish, observed, large corporations tend to prioritize caution over speed when approaching new digital spaces. Rather than rushing to claim a first-mover advantage, such companies often wait until a platform demonstrates consistent maturity, stability, and measurable consumer traction before entering.
Having formally launched in the United States in 2023, TikTok Shop has quickly emerged as one of the fastest-growing consumer-facing products in the country. Data from a recent Morning Consult report underscores this momentum. In fact, insiders reveal that a single livestream hosted through TikTok Shop can at times generate six-figure sales measured by gross merchandise value (GMV)—a testament to how influential social selling has become. More broadly, this surge aligns with a larger trend: social commerce has been accelerating across the industry, propelled by the integration of content creation, influencer marketing, and real-time purchasing behavior. According to an Adobe analysis of direct online consumer transactions, social media–driven purchases increased by a striking 29 percent this November compared to the same month a year prior. Likewise, shopping platform LTK reported that more than 200 brands established dedicated profiles within its app in just one week as enthusiasm for social shopping continued to rise.
This pattern of growth has been evident throughout the year as American consumers grow increasingly comfortable discovering and buying products via social networks and influencer-driven platforms. The live-selling app Whatnot, for instance, recently reaffirmed the vitality of this sector when it nearly doubled its valuation to $11.5 billion following a $225 million Series F funding round. Industry executives such as Max Benator, CEO of the social-commerce firm Orca, have emphasized how new players like Whatnot have captured attention by bringing on major sellers, relevant brands, and charismatic hosts, thereby pushing the entire sector into a dynamic new phase. As he put it succinctly, it is indeed “an exciting time” for the social commerce world.
Yet TikTok Shop’s path to securing large-scale corporate partners has not been without friction. Some well-known companies initially hesitated to invest resources in a platform that, until recently, faced the looming threat of a potential U.S. ban. Others were wary of associating with a marketplace perceived as youthful and unpredictable, particularly one known for inexpensive imitation—or “dupe”—versions of premium products. According to current and former TikTok employees interviewed by Business Insider, several major firms sought to avoid a setting that might blur the distinction between authentic and copycat merchandise. Amazon, when attempting to court top-tier brands for its own marketplace, encountered comparable challenges in assuring product quality and brand reputation. However, with concerns about regulatory bans gradually receding and consumer loyalty to TikTok proving resilient, sentiment among large corporations appears to be shifting decisively. Last year’s $100 million in single-day U.S. Black Friday sales stands as compelling evidence that the platform now commands both scale and staying power. As Jasper Knitel, founder of Social Army, another social-commerce agency, explained, corporate decision-making structures are inherently cautious: “Big brands require extensive internal approvals before taking a leap. Their entry may be slow, but once they move, they move with intent.”
The influx of major brands has intensified competition within TikTok Shop’s ecosystem. With more participants seeking visibility, the struggle to capture consumer attention has grown fiercer than ever. To differentiate themselves, companies are offering extraordinary discounts, sometimes cutting deeply into profit margins to secure viewer engagement and drive conversions. One TikTok Shop employee revealed that aggressive price slashing by leading brands has compelled smaller players to match those rates to remain competitive. Current examples include L’Oréal Paris advertising reductions of up to 60 percent on selected beauty products, and Shark Ninja offering discounts as steep as 45 percent on popular items such as its vacuum cleaners and Ninja Slushi Maker devices.
Beyond the brands’ own promotional efforts, TikTok itself plays a critical role in shaping sales outcomes. The platform organizes special marketing events, including the high-impact “Super Brand Day” campaign, which channels massive amounts of traffic toward featured companies. When TikTok’s algorithms or marketing pushes spotlight a particular livestream, viewership and sales can escalate dramatically within hours. However, such preferential exposure is not distributed equally across all sellers; many businesses must instead invest in advertising to sustain visibility. As organic reach declines due to escalating competition, advertisers are increasingly turning to TikTok Shop’s proprietary ad solution, GMV Max, to guarantee sufficient video exposure and maintain momentum. In adjusting their marketing budgets to accommodate these costs, several brands are also recalibrating their partnerships with influencers—lowering commission rates in some cases to balance spending across content creation and paid promotion.
Nevertheless, creators who have established proven track records in driving sales still wield significant negotiating power. Agencies note that brands are gravitating toward smaller circles of trusted influencers who can reliably represent their identity, deliver persuasive live content, and align seamlessly with sponsored ad pushes. Knitel aptly describes this evolution as the cultivation of “a more intimate relationship” between brands and a select cadre of creators—one defined not merely by sponsorship, but by collaboration, strategic trust, and sustained mutual benefit. The overall picture, then, is of an increasingly sophisticated and competitive marketplace—one where entertainment, authenticity, and commerce converge to redefine how global companies and everyday consumers connect on TikTok Shop.
Sourse: https://www.businessinsider.com/big-brands-embrace-tiktok-shop-for-black-friday-cyber-monday-2025-11
