Social commerce, the blending of social media and shopping, is booming, and TikTok is at the forefront of this trend. Industry analysts report that US social-commerce sales leapt 26% in 2024 to about USD 71.6 billion, largely driven by TikTok Shop and its resonance with Gen Z. TikTok’s strategy is global: after running several tests for the Shop platform in the UK in 2021, it launched in the US in 2023 and aggressively pushed into Europe and Asia.
In December 2024, TikTok launched TikTok Shop in Ireland and Spain, enabling shoppable videos and live streams in users’ For You feeds. The company noted that over 2.2 million Irish users visit TikTok each month, while nearly 20 million use it in Spain.
Local partnerships are part of the push, as TikTok teamed with Guaranteed Irish to train and showcase homegrown brands on the platform. At the time, Elaine Fox, Head of Ireland at TikTok talked about TikTok Shop and what it meant for local businesses, describing it as having a bustling market square in the palm of their hand.
It’s plain to see that TikTok’s expansion in Europe has become a priority. After holding back earlier in 2024 to focus on the US, the company quietly recruited dozens of staff in Spain for a scaled launch. In March 2025, TikTok Shop rolled out in France, Germany and Italy, and analysts noted ByteDance’s focus on Asia and Europe as its largest markets.
In May 2025, The Paypers reported on TikTok’s plans to enter Japan’s ecommerce market, recruiting local sellers for livestream shopping on TikTok Shop. These moves come in the context of uncertainty in North America, as TikTok’s parent ByteDance faces a US law requiring it to divest the app by January 2025.
TikTok’s rise in commerce owes much to Gen Z, as the digital-native generation, having grown up online, often discovers products on social apps. A GRIN survey found that 30.4% of 18 to 27-year-olds now spot new products on Instagram and 23.2% on TikTok, far outpacing Google (18.8%).
In Asia-Pacific, KPMG reported that 63% of Gen Z consumers prefer social commerce and 57% have an affinity for livestreamed shopping. Gen Z shoppers gravitate to entertainment-style commerce, and viral trends fuel impulsive buys.
For example, TikTok’s #TikTokMadeMeBuyIt hashtag grew by roughly 220% year-over-year in 2023 according to Fxcintel. TikTok itself claims users on its platform are 1.5 times more likely to buy something they discovered there versus other apps. In essence, TikTok has become central to how young people shop, a reality forcing brands to adapt their strategies by creating short videos and livestreams rather than traditional ads.
A key enabler of TikTok’s Shop push is embedded payments, which are seamless, in-app transactions that keep users from bouncing to external sites. While exploring the top six payment trends for 2025 for The Paypers, Frank Breuss, CEO and Co-Founder of Nikulipe noted that Embedded Payments solutions ‘integrate payment options directly into their platforms, making checkout nearly invisible to the user.’
On TikTok, this means tying consumers’ accounts to payment wallets, so purchases happen in one click. TikTok’s deal with Amazon is one example, as in 2023 the platform linked user profiles to Amazon accounts so that products seen in TikTok ads could be bought without leaving the app.
TikTok’s goal is essentially to make shopping as effortless as scrolling. Moreover, by combining livestream entertainment with instant checkout, TikTok can capture impulse buys on the spot. On a related note, TikTok Shop’s sales have reportedly topped USD 1 billion per month in the US since mid-2024, fuelled by steep discounts and engaging shoppable content. The result is that checkout becomes part of the social-media UX, not a separate ecommerce step.
TikTok’s social commerce experiment isn’t without obstacles, as data privacy and financial regulations prove challenging. In the US, TikTok is engaged in a political battle, as a 2024 bipartisan law aims to force ByteDance to offload the popular app by January 2025, putting any US ecommerce plans on hold.
Globally, TikTok has been banned or restricted in about a dozen jurisdictions over security and content concerns. Furthermore, closer to its new markets, Europe is tightening rules, as TikTok has been fined hundreds of millions of euros for GDPR breaches, highlighting regulators’ scrutiny of Chinese-owned platforms.
ByteDance’s attempt to gain a European payment licence hit a wall in 2024 when Irish regulators and banks had a closer look at its anti-money-laundering controls. HSBC even closed ByteDance’s Irish bank accounts over AML concerns.
Now, TikTok is pursuing a Luxembourg licence for its payments arm, but in the meantime, it must lean on fintech partners. TikTok presently relies on companies such as Stripe, Adyen, PayPal, and Worldpay for transactions wherever it lacks its own licence. Those PSPs, in turn, face standard regulations, from KYC and PSD2 strong-authentication rules in Europe to new credit rules for Buy Now, Pay Later.
Experts caution that Europe’s tough regime limits what marketplaces can do. Contributing to an Expert Opinion piece for The Paypers that focused on marketplaces and online platforms, Mark Beresford and Volker Schloenvoigt, Directors at Edgar, Dunn & Company, noted that the US trend of marketplaces becoming full payment facilitators ‘has not happened in Europe mainly due to a more challenging regulatory regime.’
As TikTok continues to expand its ecommerce capabilities, it is part of a more general trend where platforms aim to become super apps or integrated ecosystems offering a multitude of services, from social networking to shopping and payments. This model, popularised in Asia by apps such as WeChat and Alipay, is now gaining traction globally.
In China, WeChat and Alipay have long exemplified the super app concept. WeChat combines messaging, social media, payments, and ecommerce, allowing users to chat with friends, pay bills, book services, and shop, all within a single app. Similarly, Alipay, originally a digital wallet, has expanded to offer a wide range of services, including ride-hailing, travel bookings, and medical appointments.
According to SDKfinance, Western platforms are increasingly adopting the super app model, integrating various services to improve user engagement and retention.
Under Elon Musk's leadership, X is aiming to transform into a super app. The platform partnered with Visa to introduce a real-time payment system called X Money, enabling digital wallet and peer-to-peer payments. This move aligns with Musk's vision of creating an ‘everything app’ that combines social media, payments, and more.
Separately, Revolut is charting its own path toward becoming a comprehensive super app. The UK-based fintech has rapidly evolved from a digital banking service into a multifaceted platform, integrating a wide array of financial and lifestyle services to meet diverse consumer needs.
Revolut's journey began with offering currency exchange and basic banking services. Today, it provides a wide array of features, including savings accounts, stock and cryptocurrency trading, personal loans, and insurance products. In 2024, the company reported over 52.5 million retail users worldwide, processing more than GBP 1 trillion in transaction volume, a 52% increase from the previous year.
Beyond traditional financial services, Revolut has ventured into lifestyle offerings. The introduction of eSIMs allows users to manage mobile data plans directly through the app, and the company is exploring the launch of a mobile phone service in the UK and Germany. These additions aim to position Revolut as a one-stop solution for various consumer needs.
To support its super app ambitions, Revolut is actively pursuing strategic acquisitions. Following a record pre-tax profit of GBP 1.4 billion in 2024, the company is expanding its finance and strategy division to identify potential buyout opportunities that align with its growth objectives.
The evolution of super apps has significant implications for fintech companies. As these platforms integrate payments and financial services, fintechs have opportunities to provide the underlying infrastructure, such as secure payment processing, fraud detection, and compliance solutions. However, they also face challenges in adapting to the diverse regulatory environments and ensuring seamless integration across various services.
TikTok’s aggressive ecommerce push underscores a visible shift: shopping is becoming social and seamless, especially for younger consumers.
In practice, TikTok is banking that its vibrant, algorithm-driven feed and embedded checkout will draw Gen Z wallets. For now, the strategy seems to be working, as brands report rising sales via shoppable TikTok content, and local businesses, from Irish boutiques to Japanese lifestyle stores, see new audiences.
Yet the path ahead has many challenges. TikTok and its fintech partners must navigate a myriad of rules, from consumer protection to privacy and financial licencing in every market. Consequently, the pace of growth may slow if regulators demand tighter oversight.
However, if even a fraction of TikTok’s billion-plus users regularly buy through the app, social commerce has the potential to reshape retail. In the end, TikTok’s ambition will hinge on making checkout disappear, turning a brief scroll or livestream view into an instant purchase, all while earning the trust of regulators and shoppers alike.
A dedicated and inquisitive copywriter, Dragoș has extensive experience in editing and developing content related to IT and tech. After joining The Paypers, his focus turned to the latest fintech, payments, and crypto announcements. For Dragoș, connecting the dots and observing trends and developments in the industry has become second nature.
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