"On TikTok, what I buy is not the product, but a symbol of identity." This is how a Gen Z consumer described her shopping experience. During the mid-year promotion in 2025, TikTok Shop US reached a monthly GMV of $1.09 billion, an 18% year-on-year increase.
Behind this figure is the rise of the global2.4 billion Gen Z consumer force, accounting for about 32% of the world’s total population.
Unlike traditional shopping methods, these young consumers are more inclined to discover and purchase products on social media, andTikTok is their platform of choice.
Image source: Internet
01 Channel Transformation: Social Platforms Become the New Shopping Gateway
The consumer decision-making path is undergoing a fundamental transformation. At present,39% of consumers get shopping inspiration from social media, a proportion that has far surpassed offline displays and TV at 32%.
Gen Z's shopping behavior is completely different from their predecessors. They rely more on TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube for shopping inspiration, with more than 40% of consumers buying gifts based on influencer recommendations. This is especially true for Gen Z and Millennials, with proportions as high as 68% and 54% respectively.
This shift is not only reflected among young people,the "2025 E-commerce Delivery Benchmark Report" shows that about 21% of global shoppers already shop directly through social platforms such as TikTok and Instagram.
It is expected that nearly half (49%) of global consumers will browse or purchase products through social media platforms this year, with the proportion in North America as high as 52%.
Image source:Metapack
02 The Rise of TikTok: Content E-commerce Reshapes the Consumer Experience
TikTok's unique algorithm recommendation mechanism and content format make it stand out in the social e-commerce competition. Short video content is popular worldwide, and a large number of users are attracted to various novel products while browsing entertainment videos.
Even some particularly niche brands can leverageTikTok's communication power to achieve explosive sales growth. This "goods find people" model greatly shortens the decision-making time from product discovery to placing an order.
The latest Adobe Express survey confirms that TikTok has become the preferred shopping platform for American consumers, surpassing YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, and X. 58% of Gen Z choose TikTok as their preferred platform, spending about 528 hours a year on the platform.
This high level of activity and stickiness lays a solid foundation for e-commerce conversion. Users no longer need to leave the platform to complete the entire shopping process, achieving a"see and buy instantly" seamless experience.
Image source: Internet
03 Giants Deploy, Competition in the Social E-commerce Track Intensifies
As the influence of social media on shopping decisions continues to rise, major e-commerce giants have keenly sensed the huge potential of this market and are actively deploying strategies.
At the beginning of this year, Russian e-commerce giantWildberries launched the video shopping app Wibes, which can push personalized information streams to users based on their subscriptions, liked videos, and shopping records on the platform. As of the end of May this year, Wibes had more than 5.5 million users just three months after its launch.
Shopee has launched an affiliate marketing program in cooperation with Facebook. Through this partnership, Shopee can leverage Facebook's massive user base to accurately push product information. Ozon announced a partnership with VKontake to provide rewards for sellers who promote products on social platforms.
Latin American e-commerce giant Mercado Libre has also launched its short video platformClips in Peru, attracting users through short video content and increasing shopping engagement. These initiatives all indicate that social e-commerce has become the new battleground for global e-commerce competition.
Image source:Wibes
05 Challenges Remain: Security and Trust Are Key Issues
Despite the rapid development of social e-commerce, challenges cannot be ignored.A research report released by SOTI points out that 25% of consumers are concerned about the security of social media shopping links.
Problems such as information leakage and the circulation of counterfeit goods require platforms to improve review mechanisms and strengthen transaction supervision, as well as merchants to uphold the bottom line of honest business practices.
Amazon's attempts in the field of social e-commerce have encountered setbacks. ItsInspire feature launched in 2022 ultimately failed to gain a foothold in the competition and was officially discontinued; it then announced the closure of the Posts program.
This shows that even industry giants like Amazon face considerable challenges in the field of social e-commerce. Success requires a deeper understanding of the social media ecosystem and user behavior patterns.
Image source:Amazon
With the holiday season approaching,TikTok has become a key battleground for brands to reach Gen Z. Not only in the US, but from Southeast Asia to Europe, TikTok Shop is replicating its social e-commerce success model globally.
Traditional e-commerce platforms and offline retailers have to rethink their strategies: either adapt to this new shopping paradigm or risk being marginalized.