TikTok Shop hits 500,000 US seller milestone

TikTok Shop, despite risking a total ban in the United States, has exploded its growth in the latter half of 2023, especially in the country.

In its TikTok Shop Safety Report, TikTok revealed that it now has more than 500,000 US-based sellers, more than doubling the number from just three months prior.

TikTok has been expanding its ecommerce reach globally too, with the worldwide seller base surpassing 15 million in December 2023.

Along this growth, TikTok Shop has been prioritizing safety measures for buyers and sellers. The Edge Malaysia reported that TikTok invested $400 million in automated systems to detect and prevent the sale of fraudulent or unsafe products.

• This includes using machine learning to judge product listings before they go live, making sure they comply with regulations.

For instance, in the second half of 2023 alone, TikTok Shop prevented 37 million products from being listed due to policy violations and removed an additional 133,000 products after listing.

Its future in the US will still face uncertainty as the US government is considering a bill that could force TikTok to be sold or face a ban. 

• TikTok Shop originally planned to invest $17.5 billion in a US expansion, which would give its customers more free shipping benefits and influencer partnerships.