The honeymoon period for TikTok Shop is over.
For years, TikTok sent organic traffic to videos from US merchants to help jump-start interest in its e-commerce business. But now, product sellers generally have to pay for TikTok ads in order to get significant views on their videos, three company partners and two TikTok staffers said. The drift away from free views began last year, but has really picked up in 2025, these people said.
The shift has been painful for some small businesses that were drawn to TikTok because it was a low-cost sales tool. A key part of the company’s pitch to e-commerce brands had been: Hey, we’re a platform for viral videos, and if you’re lucky, we’ll make your products take off, too.
Whether you sold pickle-jar themed sweatshirts or freeze-dried skittles, you had a shot at grabbing millions of views for free. And after a video gained steam, sales would often follow (sometimes faster than sellers could handle).
But in 2025, those unpaid views and serendipitous order surges are few and far between, three TikTok agency partners said. The platform has a lot more companies on its roster that are competing for attention, and it’s not juicing their views as often, they said.
As free traffic fades, brands are turning instead to paid ads to promote their shopping videos.
“My recommendation to all brands is to model your business to be sustainable on an ad-driven marketplace or you’re destined to falter,” Max Benator, CEO of the social-commerce agency Orca, told Business Insider. “Whether that’s because you benefited from early traffic or a viral moment, you can’t sustain it without an ad program, which costs money.”
The shift toward paid traffic is a sign that the platform is maturing, said William August, CEO of the social-shopping firm Outlandish.
When TikTok first began testing Shop in the US in late 2022, it had to send free traffic to sellers in order to drum up interest and demonstrate its platform could drive sales. Ultimately, the company wants its business to look more like that of its Chinese sister app Douyin, or Amazon, which make money from ads in addition to taking a commission on product sales.
A TikTok spokesperson said its team works closely with sellers to provide tips and guidance on content strategies that work well with the app’s audiences.
The end of freebies
TikTok Shop has been pulling back on other seller perks this year, including sunsetting free shipping subsidies last week.
The platform’s sales have slumped this year amid tariffs and other global economic factors. The company’s leadership was disappointed with the performance of its US e-commerce business in 2024 as well.
As freebies disappear, the company could have trouble convincing its roster of small businesses to pay for better performance.
There are still circumstances in which TikTok will boost views for Shop videos, three company staffers said.
If a brand is selling a product in a category that the company is prioritizing, or that falls under a broader promotional campaign, its videos or livestreams could get a boost, the employees said. If a brand is operating in a new market like Mexico or Brazil, it may get a bump in views. And TikTok account managers can also request that one of their clients get boosted in the feed to help drive up sales, one of the staffers said. The company has the ability to promote non-shopping content in users’ feeds, too.
The shift away from free traffic for sellers comes at a tenuous moment for TikTok in the US.
The platform could shut down in the country due to a 2024 law that requires owner ByteDance to divest from the app. Some merchants have been exploring selling in new markets like Mexico, where TikTok is putting promotional weight behind e-commerce.
Read the full article here
