TikTok Shop is the New Black Friday: Urgent, Addictive, and Changing How We Buy

A year-over-year trend report on how TikTok is reshaping holiday shopping behavior—turning scrolling into spending and users into impulse buyers. 

In just one year, intent to shop on TikTok Shop during the holidays jumped from 76.1% in 2024 to 83.2% in 2025 among U.S. social media users. 

What used to happen one day a year—massive sales, limited inventory and the adrenaline rush of impulse shopping—now happens daily on TikTok Shop. The same emotional triggers that define Black Friday—scarcity, urgency, entertainment, and social proof—are now served algorithmically, seamlessly woven into your carefully-curated TikTok feed. The line between entertainment and e-commerce has all but disappeared. 

TikTok Shop by the Numbers 

With over 1.8 billion users and 58% using TikTok Shop (Forbes 2024), TikTok Shop has rapidly become a force in social commerce since launching in 2023. But its rise hasn’t been without obstacles—regulatory scrutiny and fears of a U.S. ban have cast uncertainty over its future. 

To understand its true impact, we surveyed 606 U.S. social media users—same demographics, same questions, one year apart—on Panoplai’s end-to-end research platform. The results revealed more than just rising adoption. They pointed to a deeper shift: shopping is no longer planned—it’s triggered by content, context, and emotion. 

And not all demographics are responding the same way. 

Scroll-to-Spend Pipeline: The Shift in Consumer Behavior 

TikTok is collapsing the traditional shopping journey. Instead of starting with intent, holiday shoppers are now beginning with content—and ending with impulse. In our study, 43.4% of respondents discovered holiday gift ideas simply by browsing TikTok, not

through planned searches or comparison shopping. With TikTok Shop’s seamless in-app checkout, this “scroll-to-spend” behavior turns inspiration into purchase in seconds. 

Peer-reviewed research confirms this shift: one study of 350 university students found that impulse buying mediates the link between TikTok content and purchase intent, meaning users are reacting emotionally, not strategically (To & Hoang, 2022). Another study showed that Gen Z consumers are particularly influenced by entertainment, trust, and ease of use, often buying without prior intent (Huy, 2024). 

Our data backs this up: 54.6% of users are motivated by exclusive deals, 35.1% by unique or trending products, and 10.6% by engaging content. As a result, likelihood to shop on TikTok Shop during the holidays rose from 76.1% in 2024 to 83.2% in 2025—a 7 point jump driven by emotional and real-time triggers, not traditional planning. 

Table 1: Likelihood to Shop on TikTok Shop for Holiday Gifts (2024 vs. 2025)

Table 2: TikTok’s Impact on Holiday Shopping Behavior (Year-over-Year Comparison) 

Not Just Gen Z: Who Jumped In This Year? 

While Gen Z may have pioneered the TikTok era, Millennials are now powering its shopping surge, showing the most radical growth to adoption over the year-over-year comparison. 

Our data shows that the 25-34 age group is the most lucrative segment, with 38.2% “very likely” and 24.5% “extremely likely” to shop on TikTok Shop this holiday season. They’re especially motivated by exclusive deals (55.5%) and positive reviews (40.1%)—the building blocks of TikTok’s trust-driven shopping environment. 

The Late Bloomers with Big Potential 

The 35-44 age group is emerging as TikTok Shop’s fastest-growing segment. While younger audiences still lead in total adoption, this cohort saw the most dramatic year-over-year growth—jumping from 18.9% in 2024 to 23.3% in 2025. 

Their engagement isn’t just increasing—it’s accelerating across the board: positive sentiment (+16%), TikTok/TikTok Shop usage (+12%), and holiday shopping discovery on TikTok (+10%). 

For brands looking to tap into fresh, fast-growing audiences, this group offers high intent with untapped potential. 

Table 3: Growth in TikTok Shop Engagement Among 35-44 Year-olds 

Why the Jump? 

To understand what’s fueling the 35-44 surge, we turned to digital twins—virtual personas modeled from real human data (including survey responses, behaviors, and demographics). On platforms like Panoplai, these twins can answer follow-up questions, allowing us to generate probabilistic insights based on the original respondent’s traits. 

Let’s take one real respondent: a 35-year-old married man from West Virginia, who represents a broader shift in sentiment. In his original qualitative response, he said: 

“It is not my first choice. I prefer Amazon. It feels safer.” and “I am growing more comfortable with TikTok Shop.” 

This quote captures a deeper tension: trust and safety concerns have historically held back Millennial adoption of TikTok Shop. But his changing attitude also signals a turning point—where that hesitation is softening, and TikTok is starting to win them over. 

Others in this segment echoed similar real responses: 

“I like TikTok, I’ll give their store a chance.” and “I have a lot of family that shops on TikTok and I’ve been looking at it myself and enjoy lots of their products” 

Digging Deeper: What’s Earning their Trust

We followed up with his digital twin—powered by over 25 behavioral and demographic signals—to explore what shifted his perception. Here’s what he said in that synthetic follow-up: 

“Initially, I had some doubts about buying through TikTok Shop, mostly about reliability. But over time, I've noticed TikTok improving its offerings, ensuring more trustworthy reviews, and better promotions, making it feel less risky to me.” 

In short, this group is warming up—not because they’re trend-driven, but because TikTok is earning their trust. 

For brands, this is the moment to lean in: Gen Z may be saturated, older users still hesitant—but 35-44 year-olds are an underrated demographic for TikTok targeting. 

Final Thoughts: It’s Not Just a Trend—It’s a New Default 

TikTok Shop isn’t a passing trend—it’s the new default. Adoption, awareness, and spending have all risen year-over-year, proving this isn’t just a novelty—it’s a behavioral shift. The traditional purchase funnel breaks down when content, not planning, drives decisions. Like Black Friday, TikTok Shop thrives on urgency, emotion, and impulse—but now it happens every day, in-feed, and in real time. 

For marketers, this means rethinking everything: Shift spend toward influencer-driven content, TikTok-exclusive offers, and behavior-based segmentation. Stay responsive to emerging patterns. And most importantly, stop assuming your audience plans to buy—because increasingly, they don’t. 

That’s where tools like Panoplai come in—bring together real human data, synthetic enrichment, and digital twins to help researchers, marketers, and innovators track how culture shifts, audiences evolve, and decisions unfold in real time. 

References 

Huy, N. Q. (2024). Research on the role of influencers in Gen Z’s purchasing decisions on TikTok Shop in Hanoi. World Journal of Advanced Research and Reviews, 22(3), 1801-1809. http://doi.org/10.30574/wjarr.2024.22.3.1884 

Panoplai. (2025). TikTok holiday shopping behavior: Year-over-year U.S. trends from 606 social media users [Survey data]. 

To, A.T., & Hoang, M. H. (2022). The influence of TikTok content on impulse buying behavior: Evidence from university students in Vietnam. Journal of Information System and Management, 28(4), 1033-1047.