TikTok is expanding its in-stream commerce efforts, with some U.S. users now seeing a fresh "Shop" tab appear within the app.
 the new Shop tab is surfacing for selected U.S. users between the "For You" and "Following" feeds, which gives it a premium position within the UI.

Says Bloomberg, the new tab will feature a scrollable list of apparently random products, but "it is mostly Chinese, although some seem to be connected to trends in the app.

"The most prominent section is for "Today's Deals." On the feed seen by Bloomberg, the top promoted product was a snail mucin-based face serum which has recently gone viral on the app.

That works with TikTok's updated eCommerce strategy, which has seen the app look to focus on viral products, by providing them through its own supply chain that is serviced by a range of China-based suppliers.

TikTok has been testing this model in the UK, and now it seems like that's crossing over into the US as well, albeit in a slightly different display format.
The app remains very keen to integrate direct shopping based on success that it's seen with the same in the Chinese version of the app.

Indeed, in-stream commerce is now the main income stream for "Douyin" the mainland Chinese version of TikTok, while TikTok's also seeing solid take-up of its shopping tools in other Asian markets, including Singapore, Malaysia, and Indonesia.

But so far Western users have been reluctant to merge their social media and shopping experiences, opting instead for in-app shopping either through physical stores or special eCommerce apps.

TikTok is still seeking the best way to attract Western consumers and to tempt them to purchase in-stream.

It initially focussed on live-stream shopping, its main driver in China, but it was eventually forced to scale back its live shopping ambitions due to lukewarm user response. With that initial push not resonating, TikTok then moved onto in-stream shops and product display options, which have generated some response, but clearly not enough to make it a significant factor for the app.

So now, TikTok is trying another tack, but this one at least, based on initial insights, could be an even riskier endeavor for the short-form video giant.

In further notes, Bloomberg also reports that the new U.S. shop tab of TikTok currently features products sold by several Chinese outlets that have already been banned from Amazon for leaving fake customer reviews. The threat then is that if those products are subpar, or if those listings are misleading, this may leave users even more disillusioned with the TikTok shopping experience and turn even more of them off for good.

Facebook has seen similar. Part of the problem with Facebook’s in-stream shopping push is that there are so many scams operating in the app that many people have been duped, leading them to lean more into the platforms that they know and trust for shopping instead. And each bad experience has a significant amplification factor, because users then tell their friends about it, which pushes even more people away from in-app purchases.

Essentially, social applications have a long way to go to match up the trust that Amazon, eBay, and other big retailers have built into their systems. And without that, most consumers are happy to see a product in a social application, then go looking for it elsewhere, and purchase where they can do so with more peace of mind.

At this early stage, TikTok's new approach could potentially fall back into the same trap, and it'll be interesting to see if and how it plans to expand this new push within the U.S.