Consumer Behavior

Young consumers hitting TikTok for holiday shopping

Photo: Adobe

November 6, 2023

More than a third of consumers, 36%, plan to use TikTok for holiday shopping this year.

The news, from an ESW study, comes just over a month after TikTok launched a shop in the U.S. featuring products from creators and brands on the platform.

The study also revealed 52% of shoppers expect to spend more this holiday season and 40% plan to shop more online.

"While holiday spending will be up this year, our survey found that 52% of shoppers have a pessimistic outlook for their budget, with 20% expecting to spend more and get less due to inflation," Martim Avillez Oliveira, Group Chief Revenue Officer, ESW, said in a press release on the findings. "Retailers have an opportunity, though, to elevate their online experience to take advantage of shoppers moving more of their holiday budget online."

Additional findings include:

• Older respondents are most likely to order gifts from TikTok Shop.
  • 16% of those ages 40-60 plan to purchase gifts from TikTok.
  • 8% of shoppers ages 18-29 plan to purchase gifts from TikTok.
  • 10% of all shoppers plan to purchase gifts from TikTok.
• Shoppers will only pay an average of $6.43 for expedited shipping, well below the average cost to merchants of $9.35, the starting price for Priority Mail from the USPS.
• Respondents say that they will wait on average of nearly one week for their purchases in exchange for free shipping.
• E-commerce has become ubiquitous for holiday shopping, with 90% of all shoppers planning to purchase gifts online this season.

The online survey polled 890 U.S. adults from September 22-23, 2023.