How TikTok Shop is winning over major brands

How TikTok Shop is winning over major brands

From The Modern Retail Podcast by Digiday

May 2, 2026 · 34 min

About this episode

The episode explores how TikTok Shop is becoming a significant sales channel for major brands.

On this week's episode of the Modern Retail Podcast, co-hosts Gabriela Barkho and Melissa Daniels are joined by Modern Retail's platforms reporter Allison Smith to dig into why TikTok Shop is becoming a more legitimate sales channel in the eyes of bigger brands. Less than three years old, TikTok Shop now makes up roughly 20% of all social commerce sales, according to data from eMarketer. The rest of the category is dominated by Meta. Last year, the company drove $500 million in sales during the four-day stretch from Black Friday to Cyber Monday.In response, more established legacy brands and mid-sized companies are popping up on TikTok Shop. Smith reported this March that sales from big-name brands — those with at least $30 million in annual revenue — increased 97% year-over-year on TikTok Shop.The conversation discusses: How affiliates and discounts are powering acquisition. What it's like operating on TikTok Shop as a big corporation versus a smaller startup. What it takes to succeed on TikTok Shop.

People in this episode

Hosts: Gabriela Barkho, Melissa Daniels

Guest: Allison Smith

Topics covered

  • TikTok Shop
  • social commerce
  • brand strategy
  • affiliate marketing
  • e-commerce

Keywords

  • TikTok Shop
  • social commerce sales
  • affiliate marketing
  • brand acquisition
  • e-commerce strategy

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: TikTok Shop, Meta, eMarketer

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