Will 2026 be the 12 months that TikTok procuring turns into a significant pressure for Western customers?
TikTok’s father or mother firm ByteDance has already seen massive success with in-stream procuring within the Chinese language model of the app (Douyin), with the platform producing round $500 billion in GMV in 2025. And whereas TikTok customers haven’t been as captivated with spending cash in-stream, TikTok procuring is steadily rising, and producing extra curiosity.
For context, TikTok, throughout all areas exterior of mainland China, reportedly generated round $US130 billion GMV in 2025, which might characterize a 100% soar in complete in-app gross sales year-over-year.
So curiosity is rising, although a massive factor that can assist to drive additional take-up is safety, and making certain that consumers are having expertise within the app. That’s probably a essential a part of Douyin’s procuring success, as a result of stricter rules in China provide extra safety for customers, making certain extra belief within the course of.
And now, TikTok is making this a much bigger focus.
Simply earlier than Christmas, TikTok launched an expanded Mental Property Elimination Request report, which supplies an outline of its cumulative actions to guard mental property rights throughout the app.
And TikTok is taking much more motion on this entrance over time.
As per the report:
“Between January and June 2025, TikTok eliminated 30x extra merchandise and content material via proactive measures (earlier than the product or content material appeared on the platform) than was eliminated after being reported by others or detected after posting. Our authentic dedication of an IPR violation was deemed appropriate in additional than 89% of instances.”
As you may see on this chart, TikTok has been steadily ramping up its motion to implement IP rights over time, which is able to assist to make sure that consumers are getting real merchandise, and never low-cost knock-offs, within the app.
Along with this, TikTok’s proactive detection measures have additionally led to the elimination of over 143 million movies because of violations of its Group Tips Guidelines “by buying and selling, advertising, or offering entry to counterfeit items,” whereas it additionally eliminated greater than 530k movies and live-streams posted by TikTok Store creators because of IPR infringement.
As per TikTok:
“We care deeply about championing originality. We regularly strengthen how we defend mental property rights in order that our neighborhood can have genuine experiences on TikTok. For instance, this 12 months we have decreased the steps wanted to report an IP infringement on TikTok Store. Customers who’ve joined the Mental Property Safety Centre (IPPC) can now get to the related web page in a single click on (down from seven).”
The extra that TikTok can implement and police potential misuse, the higher it may be certain that individuals have procuring expertise within the app, which is able to then, ideally, spark a behavioural shift in direction of procuring in-stream.
Which continues to be a significant change that no platform has been capable of efficiently overcome. Western consumers, for no matter purpose, are extra inclined to maintain their procuring exercise confined to trusted procuring apps, like Amazon or eBay, whereas social apps are purely for connection and leisure.
Virtually each social app has tried to include eCommerce, however routine behaviors, and once more, that lack of belief within the merchandise listed, has seemingly restrained potential success on this entrance.
Which in all probability is sensible. Based on the World Anti-Rip-off Alliance, round 23% of adults globally have had cash stolen by scammers on-line, whereas Fb is often recognized as a key vector for rip-off exercise.
It is sensible, then, that customers can be hesitant to belief social platforms with their cash, and why Western customers can be hesitant to take up provides in-stream.
Perhaps, via enhanced safety measures, TikTok can conquer this.
Andrew Hutchinson
