In the thick of the final quarter of the year, TikTok is on the hunt for new U.S. business for its Shop e-commerce arm.
The short-form video platform is offering “limited-time perks” – up to $6,000 in coupons – for new sellers to join the platform and start selling this month, according to an email shared with Digiday. Similar to its Black Friday offerings, TikTok seems to have gamified the process through “missions” to encourage and motivate sellers to sell – and sellers find out what they are once they sign up.
As part of the perk, new joiners can enjoy:
- No joining fees, and the ability to earn up to $22,800, based on the gross merchandise value (GMV) they generate
- $6,000 in coupons through TikTok’s new seller missions, per the email
The push underscores TikTok’s continued effort to jump-start its e-commerce ambitions in the U.S. Since launching TikTok Shop there, the platform’s progress has been uneven, with bursts of activity followed by quieter stretches. As Q4 pressure mounts, TikTok appears willing to subsidize early participation to seed supply, train sellers on its commerce tools and, ultimately, prove that shopping can stick inside the feed.
Go Fish’s evp of Innovation, Ethan Kramer, who reviewed the email that was shared with Digiday, said that while he thinks the incentives sound promising, they also enforce the idea that sellers need a well-thought out agenda when they launch on TikTok Shop.
“If they just launch, but they don’t have a plan or strategy in place for their Shop, they’re actually leaving a lot of opportunity on the table because they’re missing out on potentially decreased commission for the $0 joining fees for new sellers,” he said. ”And the GMV back in ad credits is all dependent on sales, so if a seller signs up and doesn’t get any sales, the decreased fees etc. won’t benefit them.”
Whatever happens with TikTok Shop it will come under new overseers.
It’s been reported that the U.S. has indeed finally secured a deal with the Chinese government over TikTok U.S. business, according to Axios, bringing the uncertainty to an end once and for all. The deal, it’s been reported, valued TikTok’s new U.S. entity at around $14 billion and is expected to close on Jan. 22, 2026.
Together, Oracle, Silver Lake and Abu Dhabi-based MGX will own 45% of TikTok’s U.S. entity, which is understood to be officially called TikTok USDS Joint Venture LLC. Additionally, around a third will be owned by affiliates of existing ByteDance investors, while around 20% will remain under ByteDance ownership.
As part of the agreement, the new U.S. entity will retrain TikTok’s algorithm on U.S. user data, while Oracle will be responsible for auditing and validating compliance with the laid out National Security Terms.
As Scalable’s co-founder and co-CEO Jasmine Enberg pointed out, there’s still about a month left until the deal is expected to close and in that time anything could happen. And by that, she means there are factors out of TikTok or the new owners’ control, such as China’s approval and broader geopolitical issues, that could potentially derail the deal or change the terms.
“Assuming the deal closes, TikTok’s future still isn’t a done deal,” she explained. “New ownership could bring changes to the algorithm that make TikTok feel less relevant, less engaging, and less, well, TikTok. Users and creators won’t necessarily leave, but they could use the app less, which would make it less appealing to advertisers.”
TikTok did not respond to Digiday’s request for comment.
