TikTok Shop: Paving the way to Increased Consumerism and Increased Waste

Grace Maruska

Elizabeth Skewes

Journalism Honors Seminar

December 2023

Table of Contents

Page #                                                Contents

3……………………………………. Anecdote: You’re scrolling on TikTok when…

4……………………………………. Introduction: How TikTok Shop Works

5……………………………………... Figure 1

8.……………………………………. Understanding Algorithms

10……………………………………. Why Promoted Content

12…………………………………… Risk-Reward Method

14……………………………………. Environmental Impact

14……………………………………. Figure 2

16……………………………………. Methods and Findings

18……………………………………. Creative Project Plan: The Short Film

20…………………………………… Works Cited

Anecdote:

You are scrolling through videos on TikTok, the popular video app, when you stumble upon a video by one of your favorite creators. She is reviewing a product from the ‘TikTok Shop’ to test if the product is worth the money. The video says ‘eligible for commission’ in the lower left corner. 

You see that the product is a part of a skincare line you really like and spend $30-40 normally on the product in stores. There is a link on the video that takes you to the product. You click the link and the product pops up in the shop. $30 is slashed out and $14.99 is written next to it. A 25% off coupon is available for your first purchase! And the purchase can be anything in the TikTok Shop. So, you think about how much money you would save if you just purchased off the TikTok Shop and had it delivered to your door. The prices are better than Amazon! You figured you would use your TikTok Shop coupon on this item, since you already use said product and know how great the product is. You enter your personal information, your credit card and home address, and wait for the arrival of your package.

A few weeks later, your package came in the mail! You couldn’t believe that the price wasn’t a scam and that you actually paid almost nothing for a product you really love. A few days later, you see a message from TikTok that says “Make a video to show how much you love the product! You may be eligible for commission”. Well, a video review wouldn’t hurt, if people click on my link, I can make my money back in no time! So, you make a quick video, hoping that it will go ‘viral’ and add hashtags and captions to get people’s attention. 

A couple days after that, you make a commission of $3. You saw that another TikTok creator got their product for free! And they made a commission off their link! I need a viral video, you think…

Now, take a look at that scenario. What’s not to love about a good deal, especially if you got it for cheap and can possibly break even, just by shooting a video? 

Introduction: How TikTok Shop Works

Tiktok is one of the newest forms of social media and has come a long way since becoming Tiktok in September in 2016. The app did not gain traction until October of 2018. In January of 2018, the app had a total of 54 million users, but by December of 2018, had 271 million users – the app being the most downloaded app of October that year (Omnicore). The parent company to TikTok is called ByteDance. According to the ByteDance website, “Today, the TikTok platform, which is available outside of China, has become the leading destination for short-form mobile videos worldwide. In support of its mission to Inspire Creativity and Enrich Life, ByteDance has made it easy and fun for people to connect with, create and consume content.” In 2022, the total number of monthly users was about 1.8 billion, with 94.1 million of these users being in the U.S (Omnicore).

Overall, the total amount of consumerism has increased since the release of TikTok Shop in April of 2023. The app launched TikTok Shop, where users would be able to purchase items directly through TikTok, by clicking a link and adding their information in the app. Hines states, “TikTok Shop adds shoppable videos and LIVE streams directly into the ‘For You’ feeds for its 150 million American users. The new ecommerce feature… offers a variety of tools to enable brands to sell products directly within the TikTok ecosystem.” The Shop allows for small brands to expand their business, even providing an option for TikTok to manage storage, picking, packing and shipping of the products in their store fronts. The TikTok shop also includes a program which allows for influencers and creators with a larger following to earn commission through their videos posted with TikTok Shop links.

Figure 1.

[Image from Searchenginejournal.com “Screenshot from TikTok, September 2023”]

In Figure 1, we can see how the TikTok shop might appear to a normal user. The screen on the left shows how a creator might feature the product in their video, with a link attached at the bottom near the caption. The center screen shows what the product looks like upon first click. You can see the item’s picture, the original price, and the price on TikTok shop, along with the promotional deal that is happening at the time you clicked the link. The screen on the right illustrates what the screen will look like when you decide to purchase the item. You can see the details of the items in your cart, to which you would checkout and add your personal information. TikTok Shop is very user friendly and makes it easier to consume products through this seller, rather than following an external link.

            Through the influencer program, there are certain requirements that you need in order to participate. These requirements are that the user must have over 5,000 followers and that the user is 18 years or older. If you pass these requirements, the TikTok shop gives you a free $50 to spend on any item in the shop and will track your account to ensure that you post about it. TikTok users with more followers have greater chances at products and the ability to not have to pay for their products.

            TikTok shop has created a completely new structure for social media consumerism in comparison to other platforms like Instagram or Facebook, which require external links, and no possible commission for users. Since the launch of TikTok shop, any user is able to become a creator or an influencer, even if they don’t have a large following. The platform allows users to become sellers of products they are not sponsored by or users of, as long as they post a video including the link. Every time someone clicks on the link and purchases something, the user whose video included the link, gets a commission on the product.

            According to Business Insider, “Sellers set their own commission rates, which usually range between 5% and 20%, according to creators and a TikTok exec.” In order to become a seller, brands must apply on the company’s website. Since they set their own commission on videos, they also have an option for what type of plan they would like. These include:

1.     “Shop” plan, where they set the same commission rate for all products

2.     “Open” plan, where they can set different commission rates for different products

3.     “Targeted” plan, where they can choose creators, they would want to partner with (Biino).

These open options allow for creators to do what is affordable for their businesses, especially if they are smaller or newer. TikTok Shop has become extremely beneficial for the virality of small, independent creators. One creator, Adam Beswick, started selling his own independently published book and was able to quit his job as a nurse and start writing full-time, because of the sales he made through TikTok Shop (Biino). Along with the different plans, there are several ways to include links in interactive ways. The three features in the app are livestreaming, shoppable videos, and product showcases. The product showcase allows creators to select certain products as their favorites and link the products to their accounts.

            While it is inclusive for big and small brands, it allows for a greater population to take part in quick consumerism. More than ever, we are seeing promotion of products that are easily replacing products we already have, such as hairbrushes, curling irons, skin care products, bags and purses, water bottles, and clothing, and that’s just the tip of the iceberg. TikTok is actively enhancing its features to be more enticing for companies to join. They spotlight companies that have taken off through TikTok on their website. TikTok shop has created an incentivized consumer shopping and selling platform through its app and will ultimately contribute a large part in overconsumption and excess waste because of its new structure, unlike any other media prior to its creation. I am analyzing how the TikTok shops’ new structure will increase consumerism and waste from consumerism, to spread awareness for what might happen in the future.

            In order for companies to do well on TikTok shop, they must learn what their users like and want to see on the app. This process is called creating an algorithm, which all social media apps utilize in order to make sure users are spending more time on their apps.

Understanding Algorithms

            How are these products becoming targeted at certain audiences? To understand this, we have to analyze how algorithms work. As defined in Algorithms for Dummies, “Algorithm: A sequence of steps used to solve a problem. The sequence presents a unique method of addressing an issue by providing a particular solution. An algorithm need not represent mathematical or logical concepts, even though the presentations in this book often do fall into that category because people most commonly use algorithms in this manner (Chapter 1).” An algorithm, in social media terms, is the computer code generated and perfected to show users what they like and want to see. When scrolling through social media, such as TikTok, your personal algorithm detects content you like, so it can show you more, and content you dislike, so it can show you less. Now, algorithms are consuming the world of social media algorithms to show you exactly what you want.

This source of information is a precious resource is business and this includes how we interact with out media. We might be able to like, comment, and click on posts/ads for free, but other companies are buying this information from the media sources we interact with. In a scholarly article by Asia News Monitor, the author stated, “Over the last decade… a new kind of ‘surveillance advertising’ has taken over. Companies pull together data on us from many different sources to make a far more targeted bid (World).” By gathering this information and selling it, companies can analyze which types of advertisements work best, and which ones they should display that will ultimately increase consumer spending.

Many social media advertisements are based off our algorithms. If you like a lot of posts pertaining to cooking, you will get more posts and advertisements that pertain to cooking. While many ads just appear as a post from your favorite brands, they are disguised to look this way in order to track if you like/dislike it, how much time you spend looking at it, or if you clicked on the ad. Unfortunately, even if you only add the item to a cart of a ‘nonexistent’ account, it will probably appear more frequently in your feed because it knows you might still want the item. Social media advertisements use frequency in relation to selling point, the more you like, view, and share it, the more likely you are to see it, and the more likely you are to buy it. Your algorithm is specific to your account, and the more information you give it, the more accurate it will be. 

In the same scholarly article, Asia News Monitor states, “Every time we click on a webpage, we trigger a chain of real-time bidding (RTB) as advertisers compete to show us ads. 178 trillion RTB transactions occur each year in Europe and the U.S., processed through data centres that use an estimated 200-terawatt hours of energy each year. That’s more than the entire national energy consumption of a medium-sized country (World).” The real-time bidding chain is not as accurate as some advertisers like to think. There is a pretty low probability that the ads being displayed will be click on or viewed for longer than a few seconds. Advertisers waste a lot of energy just trying to get people to buy things, which does not include any energy costs after which the product has been purchased.

We can see that a lot of time and energy goes into companies getting consumers to buy things, even when it might take a ton of tries. The reason that other social media advertisements work differently is because the advertisements shown to you, based off your algorithm, take you to external websites. With the TikTok Shop, you are inputting your personal information right into the app, from which brands are required to create an account that does its’ business through the app and no other external links. Because of this feature, it makes it easier than ever for consumers to click on a product, input the information they already have in there (with the click of a button), and keep going about their scrolling. There is not a lot of energy put into buying the product on the end of the consumer. The algorithms specified per person, per account, ensure that TikTok will show you the content you want, and the sponsored content you want as well.

In order to understand the motivation behind this, we must understand why consumer promotion of products might work better than advertisements straight from the brands.

Why Promoted Content?

            According to Omnicore, TikTok is one of the most addicting social media apps. Its users spend a daily average of 1.5 hours a day on the app, with the younger generation being on the higher side. Reasons for these addictive qualities include that it has super easy access – meaning that you can open the app and let the algorithm do the work, the videos are short, and there are always things that are updating – such as the latest trends and challenges. Using social media for these reasons allow us to feel closer to people, even though it is completely virtual. Short interactions that require little to no energy give our brains dopamine rushes that leave us searching for more and more content, growing this addiction further.

            Promoted content has become much more frequent on TikTok as we have seen through the increase in influencers on the app. TikTok influencers make money through their promotion of products and the views they get on their videos. According to Omnicore, a 2023 study revealed that TikToker Charlie D’Amelio makes $105,770 per sponsored post on the app. When young viewers experience the success stories of everyday people becoming influencers it creates unrealistic standards for them when they create content. The reason many people allow the influence of these celebrities is due to the fact that they feel more connected to a product that is being promoted by someone they ‘trust’. What I mean by this is that many people develop a one-way relationship with many online celebrities due to the opinions and beliefs they agree with that are displayed online. Therefore, it is more likely that the followers of these influencers will purchase these products because they see it being sold by someone they trust.

             According to Business Insider, “Partnering with social media influencers is already familiar to many brands, but the market is undergoing constant change: Brands must continually evolve their strategies accordingly. The market is rapidly expanding as influencer types have proliferated, with influencers filling every conceivable niche and sub-niche interest.” TikTok Shop, having created ‘shoppable videos’ has made it possible for all types of influencers to sell the products that their ‘niche’ is associated with. Brands will continuously partner with influencers in order to renew their perspective to ensure that they mutually maximize the value of these partnerships (Business Insider).

            Not only is the influencer relationship extending the life of certain products and sponsorships, but it is inspiring other creators to seek out these types of relationships. Influencer relationships allow creators to get free things and get paid to promote products. According to Mayer, a survey from Morning Consult, revealed that 57% of people born in Gen-Z (1997-2012) want to be social media influencers, or would be if the opportunity ‘presented itself’. It is becoming a more enticing choice for work, considering the little energy and high reward that comes from the job. While being an influencer seems like an easy job, it does require full dedication and time, considering the connections you must maintain and the public image you must consider as well.

Risk-Reward Method

Still though, people are becoming inspired by TikTok Shop to become influencers on their own. Due to the low risk, high reward system, people are buying cheap products through the app, and posting promotional videos in an attempt to make their money back. By posting a video containing a product purchased on the TikTok Shop, a user can link the product to their video, allowing for others to view the video and possibly purchase the product. By posting the link, and selling products, users are able to become their own ‘influencers’ and make a small commission off of the link that they post. Since users are already getting items at a cheap and discounted price, there is not a lot of risk with the action of posting a shoppable video. There is little risk, that could reap high rewards with the outcome of a viral video.

            Although this seems like a great way to be involved in potentially profiting off of a project you have no prior relationship with, TikTok takes its creator policies pretty seriously. From the TikTok Shop Academy’s Creator Performance Management Section 6.1, reveals many different violations that can cause ‘points’ being added to your account based on the violation. These violations range from low risk to severe risk which could result in the termination of a creator’s account. Violations range from as serious as illegal activity to as controversial as negative public feedback on a video. When you get points added to your account, you are at risk to not ever be able to sell on the app or use your account again. TikTok keeps track of promoted content, as well, warning users who had special offers that they must make a video in a certain time frame.

            A lot of users who consider TikTok Shop to be low risk, might think differently after reading through the guidelines, or getting threats from TikTok about removing them from the app, simply because they did not post a video and promote a certain product. TikTok is ensuring that they are getting their money’s worth of advertisements, by threatening users rights to the app, for something in return. Even if you make a commission off your videos, Section 8 states that violations can have your commissions suspended up to 90 days of a suspension notice. Even if you are selling products, but have violated a policy, you will be punished by having commission withheld from you. Many creators probably have not read these policies or taken them seriously due to the fact that TikTok has advertised selling to be a side hustle that anyone can do.

            While only a few might face violations and warnings from TikTok Shop, it creates a sort of dependency for users of TikTok to be pressured into making more content that sells more products. It is becoming more consistent for even smaller creators to be promoting items that are not necessary or could be purchased somewhere else. The incentive to buy on TikTok Shop is that the prices are usually always discounted. A lot of the trending items include handbags, hairbrushes, mouth hygiene items, makeup products, and freeze-dried candy. Just like any other trend or challenge, items come in and out of popularity, and different items appear more or less popular based on individual algorithms. Most of the items found on TikTok Shop can be bought else ware, whether in-store or online. Whether the main motivation is price, commission, or convenience, users are taking to TikTok Shop easily, without much concern for their privacy or carbon footprint.

            What some don’t realize, is that convenience and price come with a greater cost, an increase in unnecessary waste and a negative environmental impact. With habits of over consumption and the purchasing of items that are not necessities to our daily lives, we are seeing an increase in production and an increase in the amount of waste we produce. This has always been an issue with consumerism, but with a new system like TikTok Shop, could be detrimental.

Environmental Impact

            Recently, studies have shown that consumerism has created an increase in waste not only in the U.S. but around the world. Through advertising alone Asia News Monitor states, ““An estimated 1 percent of total energy consumption on Earth is used just to serve online ads (World).” A lot of energy goes into real-time bidding, as well, which is not a guaranteed sell, even though it is more accurate.

            In a recent article by Carbon Credits, the author states, “When it comes to carbon emissions, TikTok emits more CO2e per minute of use, 2.63 CO2e, than Facebook. TikTok’s users has an average daily app use of 45.8 minutes. If we count a third of its monthly users as daily users, then the social media app will generate over 40 thousand tonnes of CO2e each day.” From the foundation of simply using the app, the CO2 emissions show how much energy is being used through only the use of the app. The average time spent on TikTok increases pretty frequently, as well, only contributing more to the overall CO2 emissions that the company faces.

Figure 2

Comparison of CO2 emissions across 3 platforms

Source: Bankless Times

            Now, we must consider the environmental impact from consumerism alone, never mind the emissions just from running the app. Cohen writes, “Every material product or service we consume should be produced with the least possible environmental impact and after a product or service is consumed, the waste from that process should be used as an input to another productive process.” A lot of products that are sold through the TikTok Shop only promote our need for new items, and do not push sustainability. Some creators, though, attempt to sell environmentally sustainable products in order to reach a larger audience of consumers.

            Breves and Liebers write, “Consequently, when confronted with green advertising appeals, individuals often infer ulterior motives, do not purchase sustainable products and are less inclined to behave pro-environmentally. Based on their success in regular advertising campaigns, social media influencers (SMIs) have been recommended as endorsers for green products to increase advertising effectiveness and sustainable behavior, but no empirical evidence supports these suggestions.” A lot of environmentally friendly products seem to be less cost efficient to consumers who are more impulsive buyers.

            Because a lot of TikTok shoppers tend to purchase on impulse, they probably aren’t going to go looking for another version of a product that is sustainable, due to cost and inefficiency. Overall, the demand for cheap goods that are promoted well is increasing, which means that the places that these goods are coming from have to produce more to keep up with the demand. Ultimately, the TikTok Shop will increase the overall carbon footprint of TikTok itself, but also of the users on the app, who purchase goods from the TikTok Shop.

            TikTok has caused users to disregard any sort of environmental sustainability in order for users to keep up with the latest trends. Video trends and challenges seem to be harmless until we allow users to mistake trends in products for needs in their life. TikTok has created an abusive consumer cycle that rewards users for purchasing goods, with no negative side effects that they would immediately notice, such as an overall increase in consumerism and environmental waste.

Methods and Findings

            Throughout this study, I did extensive research on TikTok’s website and through scholarly sources on the information already known about the app TikTok. I was able to gather information that had already been collected since the app’s release in 2016 all the way through the present year, 2023. Through this collected data, I was able to analyze the change through the years and the new recent development of the TikTok Shop. Through this research, I was able to draw conclusions about consumer behavior in direct relation to how the TikTok Shop works and why it compels users to keep coming back.

            The reason for conducting this study is to spread awareness for how TikTok Shop might prove a negative environmental impact in the future. Since TikTok Shop is fairly new, we might not be able to understand yet how it will affect consumerism. The app could take over our modern-day convenience shopping comparable to Amazon Prime and other companies that deliver to your door with little to no effort on your part. This research might be able to prove how TikTok’s new structure is causing a forced relationship between the app and consumerism.

            TikTok aims at creating targeted algorithms that form one-way relationships between a user and the content they are consuming. This includes their relationships with influencers. TikTok’s addictive qualities create situations in which users feel as though they are missing out on things when they are not using the app. Some algorithms create a targeted page full of advertisements that are disguised as content. Through the TikTok Shop specifically, we can see that there is a negative relationship forming between creators and sponsored content. The TikTok guidelines make it very difficult for creators to do anything other than promote the product they are required to. TikTok’s strict policies create a tension and threat to our personal bond that we have created with the app itself. The company has to be aware that they are manipulating their users emotionally in order to get an increase in selling of consumer goods.

            A majority of items sold on TikTok shop are for pleasure rather than necessity and are contributing to the overall waste of social media-based consumerism. Consumers on the app are purchasing unnecessary products in replacement of products we already own. In order to do this, they entice us with low prices, convenience, and incentive of commission. They market their shop as something that is easy for everyone, and profitable for each individual.

            It is definitely a marketing tactic that could lead to negative side effects not only environmentally, but possibly even on an individual level. There is no telling what emotional ties people have to this kind of incentive, and whether or not it could affect them emotionally. Through a company threatening to take away your right to an app that is plenty addictive, it might be more enticing to participate in the things that our algorithms show us, including promoting brands on the app.

            In light of individuals safety and well-being, TikTok Shop needs some more research that will be able to help identify the long-term effects it might have on individuals who are participating in the actions. There also needs to be more extensive research into how TikTok Shop will contribute in terms of overall spending and overall individual waste produced. Since it is a relatively new app, there is only a limited amount of periodical research available, but in a few years’ time, there will be plenty of research that sheds light on how detrimental this media marketing structure could be.

Creative Project Plan: The Short Film

            As a result of this research, I am planning on making a short documentary film to shed light on the problem that TikTok Shop has created. A lot of ‘cautionary tale’ films aim at reaching certain audiences, which is what I would like to do moving forward with this project. A film that would be a good comparison in terms of structure and content would be “The Social Dilemma” on Netflix. The film is deep dive into the danger of social media on mental health. While I am not planning a feature length film, I would like to be around 5-8 minutes with interviews from experts in the social media world.

            I want to be able to continue to research through interviews and other media that helps display my overall thesis. Studying the topic this far has allowed me to see how dangerous some of these social media algorithms can be and gives some perspective on what could happen if it continues moving forward in this way. I think in the next few months, I may even find more research and statistics about the topic that will further my research.

            To execute this project, I will be using quality camera equipment, scripting the scenes, and including professional interviews. I will utilize softwares such as Adobe Premiere and Adobe After Effects, to create a professional looking film. In order to display my film, I will create a website using my name as the domain and feature the film as the ‘front page’ item. I want to include a short section of the website for photos, statistics and articles involving my research, so that the project becomes a multimedia experience that is easier to follow for a greater amount of people.

Resources

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Biino, M., & Whateley, D. (2024, January 12). How to sell on TikTok Shop. Business Insider. https://www.businessinsider.com/how-to-sell-on-tiktok-shop#:~:text=Sellers%20set%20their%20own%20commission,creators%20and%20a%20TikTok%20exec.

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Falgoust, G., Winterlind, E., Moon, P., Parker, A., Zinzow, H. M., & Madathil, K. C. (2022). Applying the uses and gratifications theory to identify motivational factors behind young adult’s participation in viral social media challenges on TikTok. Human Factors in Healthcare, 2, 100014. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.hfh.2022.100014

Hines, K. (2023, September 12). TikTok Shop officially launches in the US. Search Engine Journal. https://www.searchenginejournal.com/tiktok-shop-officially-launches-in-the-us/496174/#close

Intelligence, I. (2023, September 20). Influencer Marketing: Social media influencer market stats and research for 2021. Business Insider. https://www.businessinsider.com/influencer-marketing-report?r=DE%26IR=T

L, J. (2023, March 24). TikTok Dances toward Net Zero Emissions by 2030. Carbon Credits. https://carboncredits.com/tiktok-dances-toward-net-zero-emissions-by-2030/#:~:text=When%20it%20comes%20to%20carbon,tonnes%20of%20CO2e%20each%20day.

Learn how to boost sales | TikTok Shop Academy | Philippines. (n.d.). https://seller-ph.tiktok.com/university/essay?knowledge_id=7654205934356226&identity=1

Mayer, B. A. (2023, October 10). More than half of Gen-Z interested in careers as social media influencers. Parents. https://www.parents.com/gen-z-wants-to-be-social-media-influencers-8349212#:~:text=Survey%3A%20More%20Than%20Half%20of%20Gen%2DZ%20Wants%20to%20be%20Influencers

Stambor, Z. (2023, August 23). TikTok Shop expected to lose over $500 million in the US this year. EMARKETER. https://www.insiderintelligence.com/content/tiktok-shop-expected-lose-over-500-million-us-this-year

TikTok Shop | buy, sell and discover on TikTok. (n.d.). https://shop.tiktok.com/business/us#:~:text=TikTok%20Shop%20enables%20brands%20to,community%20to%20discover%20and%20purchase.&text=Integrated%20in%2Dapp%20checkout%20means,friction%20in%20the%20buyer's%20journey.&text=Get%20access%20to%20TikTok%20Shop's,extensive%20selection%20of%20promotion%20tools.

TikTok Shop Seller Registration. (n.d.). TikTok.