TikTok Shop Statistics for 2026: Online Marketplace Trends

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Article Summary

This comprehensive guide analyzes the latest TikTok Shop statistics for 2026, highlighting the platform's explosive growth as a global e-commerce powerhouse. It explores critical data points including the projected $112 billion GMV, the dominance of the beauty and personal care categories, and the high conversion rates driven by livestream commerce. By examining regional trends and consumer behaviors—particularly among Gen Z and Millennial shoppers—the article provides print-on-demand sellers and digital entrepreneurs with the strategic benchmarks needed to leverage TikTok's "discovery commerce" model for maximum brand visibility and sales.

TikTok Shop lets you sell products directly through videos and a special shop tab. Customers can simply tap a product tag and buy items without ever leaving the app.

Many print-on-demand sellers now use TikTok Shop as a core sales channel, often alongside or in place of Etsy and Amazon.

To grow your business, it is important to monitor TikTok Shop data. These numbers show how fast the platform is growing, how many people are buying, and which items sell best.

This article will help you understand these TikTok Shop statistics so you can grow your own POD brand in 2026.

TikTok Platform Fundamentals: Users, Reach, and Growth

How long has TikTok been around? Nearly a decade, with a growing global user base.  

At the start of 2025, TikTok had around 1.59 billion global users. Experts believe this number will grow to 2.3 billion by 2029.

If you’re wondering how many people use TikTok today, the app recorded 192.31 million downloads globally in Q2 2025 alone,

TikTok’s revenue growth has been equally strong. In 2022, TikTok generated $4 billion in ad revenue. By 2026, that number is expected to be four times higher. 

WARC’s 2025 insights estimated that TikTok’s global ad revenue could reach $32 billion if the platform avoided a U.S. ban, positioning it to capture roughly 11% of worldwide social ad spend.

Users also spend around 35 hours per month on TikTok globally, and almost 44 hours per month in the U.S.   

As of 2026, the largest TikTok user bases are found in:

  • United States: 136 million 
  • Indonesia: 108 million
  • Brazil: 91.7 million
Image via World Population Review

In addition, look at these TikTok Shop statistics for age distribution percentages in the U.S. compared to other platforms: 

Image via Pew Research Center

While many young people use TikTok, it is also reaching older adults. 

Let's explore more specific TikTok Shop statistics. 

Also read:
What Is Print-On-Demand: Everything You Need To Know About It
How to Scale Your Small Business: From 1 to 100 Sales

The Death of the Marketplace? The TikTok Shop Explosion 

In traditional marketplaces, people search, compare options, and then buy. TikTok Shop statistics show a new pattern. Users buy products they discover unexpectedly. 

Over 171,000 local and small U.S. businesses now sell on TikTok Shop. Small business sales have grown 70% year-over-year, reflected in recent TikTok Shop growth statistics.

Sellers offer more than 70 million products across 750+ different categories.

That said, TikTok is very strict about its rules. According to 2025 TikTok Shop statistics, 1.4 million registrations were rejected for failing compliance checks.

One thing that sets TikTok Shop apart is how quickly users convert. Discovery, evaluation, and purchase happen in one session.   

This loop removes delays common in search-based buying and helps explain rising TikTok Shop sales statistics.

Image via TikTok

TikTok Shop data also shows that:

  • 83% of shoppers discovered a new product
  • 70% of buyers discovered a new brand
  • 76% of users who joined a TikTok Live session made a purchase

Additionally, let’s take a look at how discovery-driven search is growing:

  • 41% of Gen Z shoppers search on social platforms first, ahead of traditional search (32%)
  • Across age groups, 37% of shoppers prefer social platforms for product research
  • 76% of users say social media content influenced a recent purchase, rising to 90% for Gen Z

Also read:
Mobile Commerce Growth Stats to Know for POD Store Owners
Is Print-On-Demand Profitable? An In-Depth Guide

TikTok Shop for Print on Demand (POD) & Small Brands

TikTok Shop statistics highlight the rapid growth of its marketplace and the opportunities for POD sellers in apparel and other areas. Some of the best performing TikTok Shop categories are: 

  • Beauty and Personal Care: $2.49 B GMV (22.5%)
  • Women’s wear and Underwear: $1.39 B GMV (12.56%)
  • Men’s wear and Underwear: $893.54 M GMV (8.06%)
  • Home Supplies: $457.5 M GMV (4.13%) 
Image via aftership

Among online shopping categories, women’s wear and underwear have the most shops (5.64%), followed by Beauty & Personal Care (5.59%) and Home Supplies (5.13%). 

These trends show strong potential for POD business owners selling clothing and home decor.

Image via aftership

Based on 2024 data, TikTok Shop’s average order value was $35, with 5.3 transactions per customer. This forms part of TikTok Shop seller earnings statistics.    

While Etsy doesn’t report an official latest average order value, its 2024 filings show:

  • $12.6 B in gross merchandise sales
  • 89.6 M active buyers
  • About $121 GMS per buyer, slightly down from the previous year

TikTok Shop sales are also driven by the affiliate program. For example, during Black Friday/Cyber Monday 2025, 159,000 creators drove affiliate sales across 108,000 shops. 

For POD sellers, access to this creator ecosystem will help increase product discovery and scale businesses

Also read:
Print On Demand Design Ideas: What’s Trending Now
TikTok Shop Fees: Commission, Refunds, and More

Consumer Behavior: Why 2026 Shoppers Prefer TikTok

TikTok Shop is one of the fastest-growing online retailers, and here’s why:

  • It saw a 131% yearly rise in shoppers
  • 180% increase in revenue

One key TikTok Shop statistics insight shows how Gen Z finds products today. Social platforms are leading. TikTok accounts for 23.2%, while Google sits at 18.8%.

Image via Grin

This shift happens for two reasons: 

  • Discovery on TikTok is intentional and organic
  • Users search using keywords, and high-demand products also appear naturally on the For You Page

This makes creators feel like trusted peers. For instance: 

  • 62% of users say they bought a product after an influencer recommendation
  • Nearly half of users trust influencers almost as much as friends and family
Image via Grin

There are clear reasons why influencer recommendations feel trustworthy:

Image via Grin

Future Outlook: Agentic Commerce on TikTok

Salesforce studied data in 2025 from 1.5 billion shoppers. It found AI influenced 20% of purchases and drove $67 billion in retail sales. 

Additionally, AI referrals converted 31% more than non-AI sources and 54% more on Thanksgiving 2025. 

These TikTok Shop statistics mean shoppers guided by AI were more likely to buy. 

Image via Adobe For Business 

Final Thoughts

TikTok Shop statistics show a platform that’s growing fast, blending discovery, creators, and AI tools to drive purchases. These statistics help small brands and Print on Demand sellers understand how TikTok Shop works today.    

Be sure to keep up with TikTok Shop statistics 2026, test strategies, and explore product categories. Get started with Podbase to list products and start selling on TikTok Shop.

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