TikTok Made Me Buy It... But Should I Have?

Something has caught my eye lately, and as an opiniated marketeer, I must talk about it!

I wanted to share some thoughts on the infamous, and ever expanding, Tik Tok shop. It feels like an e-commerce platform which has sprung into popularity, seemingly from nowhere, and once again Tik Tok has stunned all the keen social analysers out there with its ability to turn a social media platform into yet another chameleon skin.

For those unfamiliar, and who haven’t yet been trapped by the firm hold that is swiping through a million short form lip syncing videos a day (I am firmly in that trap), Tik Tok shop is a portion of Tik Tok dedicated to online sales. It is much like amazon in its usability. You swipe through, click buy, and voila! The item arrives 3-5 days later.

But where Tik Tok differs to other e-commerce platforms, is it’s ability to demonstrate its products in use with UGC creators, without needing to redirect off of it’s own site. This is an amazing step for a social media platform, and while we have seen it lightly in use before, like with Facebook Marketplace, this merge between seller and buyer, and this seemingly close proximity connection with the very brand you choose to purchase from, advocated through content creators you trust, is a revolutionary way to marketize scrolling.

But where do these products actually come from? Great question, and the answer can’t really be pinned down. Of course, some products are genuine small businesses, operating ethically, and selling exactly as described. However, there are many instances in which Tik Tok shop could be seen as Shein 2.0, selling products made cheaply, quickly, and most importantly, without paying the fare wage to it’s workers.

For example, Mooslover are easily one of the larger and better known Tik Tok sellers. Mooslover offer free sample requests, which is a service Tik Tok shoppers can use to obtain free samples, should they fit into the minimum requirements. Mooslovers requirements are just that, minimum. As a result, thousands of creators across the country have been cashing in on the free products, promoting body suits, leggings, and more on their pages.

But, a quick google search will demonstrate that Mooslover have rather flakey information available in terms of its ethical compliances. In fact, they choose rather to provide 0 information on their in house manufacturing. This is extremely unusual for a fashion brand in 2025, unless you have something which may not be perceived as so shiny and new.

So why do we keep buying? Amazingly, Tik Tok has found a way to disguise fast fashion, drop ship style sellers as authentic, trustworthy brands. It truly is remarkable the difference that UGC generated content can make, but importantly, UGC generated content from much smaller creators, the kind of people you see day to day in Sainsburys, or at the local pub. Large creators have somewhat lost that consumer trust, and as a result, I think we will see many more large brands honing in on small creators that are, and say it with me, RELATABLE.

So while the relatable stay relatable, and the price tags stay so low, we can’t help but question how is this possible, I believe the Tik Tok shop will only grow. Is this a good thing? Only time will tell. But if history of e-commerce platforms tells us that if a string becomes loose, it will be pulled, and threads will unravel.