TikTok’s plan to convert itself into a global eCommerce powerhouse continues to face challenges, with the platform’s in-stream shopping options now struggling to gain significant ground in Indonesia, where TikTok had been seeing higher levels of shopping success.
Last year, TikTok acquired local online retail provider Tokopedia, in order to comply with local regulations that limit social media companies from operating eCommerce platforms. The idea was that this would enable TikTok to both align with its legal requirements, while also piggybacking off of Tokopedia’s success, with the shopping app having established itself as a key online commerce tool in the region.
But reports suggest that it hasn’t played out the way that TikTok hoped.
According to Rest of World, TikTok has since pushed Tokopedia sellers to make TikTok-like content, which is very different from the static product shots they could add to Tokopedia. Sellers have also reported lower site visits, as well as higher fees and ad costs, which has prompted many of them to switch to other commerce platforms instead.
So rather than building TikTok’s online shopping presence, it’s seemingly now taken it back a step. Which would be a particularly tough pill to swallow for TikTok, given that it paid $US840 million for Tokopedia, and TikTok had been gaining traction with its in-stream sales options in South East Asian markets.
It hasn’t, however, seen the same success in Western regions, where consumers continue to prefer to keep their shopping activity separate from their social and/or entertainment apps.
For whatever reason, Western users haven’t shown the same preference as Chinese digital consumers to cram as much functionality as they can into a single app, which is what’s seen platforms like WeChat and TikTok become major money makers in the Chinese local market.
And now, TikTok’s sales push is stalling in other regions as well, and it’ll be interesting to see whether TikTok looks to shift focus onto its ad business instead, if it can’t gain real traction for its online shopping options.
But then again, TikTok shopping is steadily rising, just not as fast as TikTok would like.
Last month, TikTok reported that:
“Over the past year, our community of sellers has expanded into more than 750 categories, bringing shoppers an incredible selection of over 70 million products. So far in 2025, our growing community of shoppers, sellers, and creators has driven impressive momentum across the TikTok Shop platform. In the U.S., TikTok Shop sales have increased 120% compared to the same period last year.”
So TikTok shopping is on the rise, but it’s a far cry from the immediate success that the company saw with its shopping options in China.
Indeed, shopping is now the top revenue stream for Douyin, the Chinese version of the app, with Douyin bringing in $US490 billion in gross merchandise value (GMV) in 2024 alone. By comparison, TikTok reportedly generated around $US33 billion in GMV, across all other markets.
The numbers underline the potential, but also the challenge, in that TikTok has been pushing its shopping options for four years now, and they haven’t gained at the same rate as they have in the Chinese market.
But it’s still potentially an area of opportunity. And while TikTok is facing pushback in some regions, it seems likely that it’ll continue to plow on with its shopping options, with a view to tapping into that same potential in more regions.
Challenges remain, but there’s seemingly enough growth to keep TikTok focused on making this a thing, which is worth noting for online sellers.
