TikTok tests TikTok Shop Plus at $6-$15/month, offering free shipping and discounts. The program aims to keep shoppers from buying on Amazon. EMARKETER forecasts $23B in US sales.
TikTok is testing a paid membership program that mirrors Amazon Prime, a move that could keep shoppers from leaving its app to buy on Amazon. The program, called TikTok Shop Plus, is built into the app's e-commerce platform and offers free shipping, product discounts, and coupons for a monthly fee.
TikTok is testing the service at $6, $10, or $15 a month, according to screenshots viewed by Business Insider. In one example, a hair product normally sold for $57 was discounted to $47 for Plus members, with free three-day shipping. In another, Plus members got a $5 discount on a beauty product that normally costs close to $50.
The membership program is designed to capture shoppers who currently browse on TikTok then buy on Amazon. “TikTok, for a long time, watched a lot of their bottom-funnel buyers go over to Amazon,” a former Shop staffer told Business Insider. People would see an item on TikTok and “run over to Amazon to make a purchase,” the ex-staffer said. “I think TikTok is really trying to squash that and capture as much of those final conversions as they can.”
TikTok Shop Plus is the latest feature that mirrors Amazon's offerings. The ByteDance-owned company already offers its own fulfillment service and has pushed fast delivery windows. The overlap is no accident: TikTok hired dozens of Amazon staffers when it prepared to launch in the US in 2023. Current and former employees told Business Insider that early staff meetings felt like “Amazon alumni reunions,” and the company adopted similar internal practices like narrative memos and single-owner project structures.
Other large US retailers have similar loyalty programs. Walmart offers Walmart+ with free shipping and fuel discounts. Target runs Target Circle with exclusive deals. All aim to lock in repeat purchases.
TikTok's US e-commerce business is still small compared to Amazon. EMARKETER, a sister company of Business Insider, forecasts TikTok Shop could cross $23 billion in sales this year. Amazon, by contrast, is expected to make more than $500 billion in US sales in 2026. TikTok is thinking long-term, aiming to build a shopping marketplace that approaches the scale of its Chinese sister app Douyin, which drives hundreds of billions in annual sales.
“There are brands now that are TikTok-Shop first and do their new launches exclusively on TikTok,” said Kierra Butcher, a TikTok agency partner who works with Shop creators. “TikTok has proven itself as a marketplace, and the opportunities have continued to grow with time.”
TikTok did not respond to a request for comment. The test suggests the company is willing to invest in subscription revenue to deepen its hold on the US e-commerce market, even as regulatory uncertainty around the app's future lingers.
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