Appearing after nearly 30 years, TikTok Shop is about to surpass eBay

TikTok Shop is growing rapidly thanks to its watch-and-buy model. Photo: Bloomberg .

TikTok Shop is growing rapidly, becoming a formidable competitor in the global e-commerce sector. After only 2 years of launching, this platform has reached a scale equivalent to eBay, proving the appeal of the “watch videos and buy” model that is reshaping online consumer habits.

Growth exceeded expectations

According to analytics firm EchoTik, TikTok Shop will generate around $19 billion in sales globally from July to September 2025. In the US alone, the platform’s largest market, revenue is estimated at $4-$4.5 billion , up more than 120% from the previous quarter.

With this figure, TikTok Shop is now similar in size to eBay, which recorded sales of $20.1 billion in the same period. It is worth noting that ByteDance's platform only officially launched in the US in September 2023, while eBay has been around for more than 3 decades.

Independent analyst Juozas Kaziukėnas believes TikTok Shop’s expansion is underrated because the public is largely focused on the possibility of the app being banned in the US. “TikTok’s e-commerce market share is still growing steadily, despite the controversy,” Juozas said.

TikTok Shop is about to reach the scale of eBay. Photo: Bloomberg .

The watch-and-buy model, where creators showcase products in short videos with purchase links, is what sets TikTok Shop apart from Amazon and eBay. Ivy Yang, founder of consultancy Wavelet Strategy, said she once bought a vacuum cleaner on Amazon but changed her mind after watching a video of a similar product on TikTok Shop.

“I need to see how the product works, not just through reading reviews,” she says.

However, analysts say that despite its rapid growth, TikTok Shop has yet to replicate the success of Douyin, the Chinese version of TikTok. In the domestic market, livestream e-commerce has become a billion-dollar industry, while sales from livestreaming in the US still account for a small proportion.

Only 2% of TikTok users in the US follow online shopping content, said Dandan He, CEO of CHC Fashion Group. In contrast, that ratio accounts for nearly 50% of traffic in China.

Contrasting situations

Part of the reason TikTok Shop hasn’t taken off in the US is cultural. Consultant Ivy Yang says livestream sales content in the US “lacks the appeal” of shows in China, where celebrities and KOLs often turn their broadcasts into entertaining, scripted shows.

“Americans don't want to watch a phone version of QVC,” Yang said.

Additionally, the majority of TikTok Shop sellers are still from China, making the user experience less than truly American. Felicity Zhang, a Chinese-born seller in Houston, said many of the streams made her feel like she was in Yiwu, a Chinese manufacturing hub.

TikTok Shop's view-and-buy model is changing the global e-commerce landscape. Photo: Bloomberg.

To address this, TikTok has tightened its review process, rejecting more than 1.4 million new seller applications in the first half of 2025. However, this has also inadvertently made it harder for small businesses in the US to participate.

In contrast to the US, TikTok Shop is experiencing strong growth in Southeast Asia, a region with similar shopping habits to China. Thailand, Indonesia, Vietnam and the Philippines are all prominent markets in Q3 2025. In Thailand, one influencer sold more than $17 million worth of products during a six-day livestream, mainly cosmetics and dietary supplements.

Warin Tinprapa, chief growth officer at MI Group, said TikTok Shop fits perfectly into mobile consumer culture and benefits from lower competition than in the US. Its low-cost strategy and ability to integrate shopping into videos also helped the platform quickly win the trust of young users.

Source: https://znews.vn/xuat-hien-sau-gan-30-nam-tiktok-shop-sap-vuot-ebay-post1601832.html