How will the partnership work?
Along with being able to securely link their Amazon account to TikTok to make purchases inside the app, users will now be able to see real-time delivery estimates for all products on sale.
Experts believe this feature, which indicates how quickly a customer will have a product in their hands, is likely to boost the already-impulsive nature of TikTok purchases. And oh, are they impulsive.
Several studies have shown that emotions play a key role in the shopping experience on the platform. For example, this trend report revealed that 4 in 10 users make purchases in order to ‘lift their spirits’ when they’re feeling down.
This dopamine hit is as addictive as a pineapple ice-flavoured vape. More than half of respondents said they felt positive emotions following a purchase on TikTok, a figure 25 percent higher than on traditional social platforms like Instagram or Facebook.
While the new partnership between Amazon and TikTok will certainly streamline the shopping experience for global users, how does Gen Z feel about their favourite platforms becoming more of a digital shopfront?
The general consensus
On Reddit, users have complained that the integration of TikTok Shop has made them ‘not want to go on there any more’ because ‘all those ads are irritating.’
Some labelled the new feature ‘a negative addition’ to the platform, stating that TikTok was ‘changing for the worse’. Others said that most of the ads they received were from scammy sellers advertising fast fashion, cheap household goods, or other junk they didn’t want.
Redditors admit that they overpaid for products they could find cheaper elsewhere, after realising drop shippers advertised products at a hiked cost. Still, this doesn’t fully encapsulate the frustrations some users feel about seeing more ads.
No rest for the wicked (or capitalism)
Young people have seen several of their favourite platforms bow into capitalist ventures.
Most notably, Instagram has evolved into a host for sponsored posts, ads, and influencer promotions. All of these overshadow content shared by of our family and friends. We rarely see posts from people we actually know, thanks to the algorithm presenting us with products it thinks we should be buying.
Last year, a writer for The Atlantic suggested that TikTok’s sudden veer into e-commerce was ‘hardly guaranteed to be successful’ despite admitting that the platform is widely used for product discovery.
Months after TikTok Shop’s first launch, it may have been easy to believe this, given the failures of Facebook’s live shopping feature and Instagram’s now-hidden marketplace tab.
That said, though, a fresh partnership with a trusted platform like Amazon will make shopping so seamless, users may feel inclined to spend indiscriminately.
Of course, its success will largely depend on whether TikTok is still operating in the US by the turn of the new year.
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