How TikTok Shop is Ruining TikTok
“A lot of my friends are deleting tiktok”
In 2023, TikTok was Gen Z’s most used app. On average, Gen Z TikTok users spent nearly 2 hours per day on the app - the equivalent of one month per year. TikTok was so ingrained in the day-to-day of Gen Z’ers that when threats of a ban materialized in March of 2023, this is what reactions sounded like:
“I would not be able to continue to live because TikTok is my top source of entertainment
“I would kill myself”
“Vanish to thin air”
“kms”
And then in September of 2023 came TikTok Shop.
At first, subtly and cooly embraced by the community. But quickly, TikTok Shop became unwanted - and its negative impact on user experience may be threatening TikTok’s survival.
TikTok’s ‘Commerical Vibe’ Problem
Last week, we asked Gen Z: “How would you describe the vibe on TikTok recently?”. While we expected a bit of backlash against TikTok Shop, what we heard surprised us:
“BUYNOWSHOPNOWBUYBUYBUY”
“I hate TikTok shop :("
All TikTok shop 😩”
Of the 195 responses, 27.1% had mentions of “too many ads”, “tiktok shop”, or marketing and/or business-related comments.
An additional 39.1% were negative, with many describing the platform as messy, hectic, annoying, repetitive, or boring. Only 22.7% of responses were positive, with the top response being fun/entertaining, followed by chill, accepting, diverse and lit.
As we talked to a few Gen Z’ers in our network to understand more about these perceptions, here’s what we heard from them:
“A lot of my friends are deleting tiktok” - F, 22
“Yea, same here. TikTok is kind of becoming a really negative space. Everyone has an opinion on everything, but they aren't necessarily informed about what they are trying to speak about, like on most platforms. I feel like TikTok used to be an app to get away from all that and just be fun and silly with meaningless content, but it's turning a bit toxic” - F, 20
“TikToks to me are way less entertaining compared to a year ago. It’s like every other post is trying to sell me something. With every company using the creator economy and trying to sell products with “organic ads” i’ve lost the funny stuff that i used to go on tik tok for. Haven’t had the app on my phone for a few months. Many of my peers feel exactly the same.” - M, 21
Reddit is not the only place people are going to complain. Even comments on TikTok itself are full of complaints about the platform’s overload with shop, shop products and the “orange box in the left corner” of posts.
What is the impact of these changes on Gen Z TikTok usage?
On February 6th, we asked our network of Gen Z’ers about their recent TikTok usage to see if they self-reported any change in their TikTok usage. Here’s what we found:
A few takeaways from this data:
In our 2023 Gen Z Screen Time Report, we observed that 70% of Gen Z’ers were using TikTok - which mirrors this data pretty precisely. So no real change in users vs non-users.
1 in 3 Gen Z TikTok users report using the app less than usual recently. While more Gen Z TikTok users report their usage as unchanged as of late, it seems that recent TikTok changes may be affecting their use. There is also a possibility the negative sentiment may be a leading indicator, and that we’ll continue to see drops in use over the coming months as well.
So why are people staying on TikTok, despite their negative experience?
But there may be a few more pieces of evidence to explain why usage may not be as affected. In some of the same comment sections as the screenshots above, users explain why they are sticking around on TikTok, despite their strong dislike for TikTok Shop:
Despite these negative experiences, it seems like two things are keeping TikTok users locked in:
The TikTok community
The comment section has always been a source of raw, unfiltered truth from a global community. Because TikTok profiles do not carry the same cultural weight of an Instagram profile, comments are less linked to Gen Z’s online identities. This disconnect is an important one - it allows Gen Z’ers (and all users) to feel less pressure to represent that constructed identity, and more free to share unrestricted and carefree thoughts and opinions. And while TikTok continues to push a focus on profiles and incorporating friends and follows into your feed experience, the disconnect from friends and online identities seems to be one essential thing that is holding TikTok together.
Lack of better options
“I cannot with IG…I hate TT shop but I hate insta more.” While TikTok’s experience may be bad, other platforms are worse. Instagram has notoriously been flooded with ads and unwanted recommended posts in recent times. 2022’s historic call from Kylie Jenner to “make Instagram Instagram again” may have caused a response from Adam Mosseri, but in reality the platform has not shown significant changes in its pursuit of eating into TikTok time.
Tick Tock, TikTok
For TikTok, time will tell how users respond to the increasing focus on social commerce. Coca-Cola’s recent launch of a new soda only available on TikTok Shop certainly seems to indicate that brands see a new kind of monetization available on the platform. Despite repeated attempts from social platforms alike to solve social commerce in the US, it seems as if TikTok Shop may not be the answer. But perhaps losing users may be worth it for the gain in value from Shop users on TikTok.
Will TikTok Shop’s association with scams, QVC, and fast fashion prove valuable in the long run for brands, and for TikTok itself?