TikTok Shares Insights into the Growing Role it Plays in Product Discovery

Amid ongoing questions about the future of the app, after U.S. Senators voted to force it to be sold off from its Chinese parent group, TikTok’s looking to underline its broader value, by pitching brands on the powerful role that it now plays in the product discovery process.

Indeed, according to a new study conducted by Material, in partnership with TikTok, 61% of TikTok users discover new brands and products on the platform, which is 1.5x more than other platform users.

And over time, TikTok is becoming a more habitual process for driving this discovery.

As per TikTok:

“People don’t just watch content on TikTok; they also actively choose to continue viewing more content related to what was just served to them. They are also turning TikTok into their go-to search destination.”

It’s an interesting consideration, which has been in play for some time, with even Google admitting that TikTok’s eating into its core search market.

And as TikTok’s younger audience ages up, that could present more opportunity to reach people where they’re looking, in order to help keep your products front of mind.

Further to this, data from Material shows that:

41% of people believe TikTok search is entertaining (vs. 32% social media platforms and 16% traditional search platforms).
28% of people believe TikTok search is authentic (vs. 25% social media and video platforms; 21% traditional search platforms).
25% of people believe TikTok search is concise (vs. 19% social media and video platforms; 15% traditional search platforms).

TikTok also notes that of those users who were inspired to do something because of search on TikTok, 91% followed through and performed the action.

You can’t understate the disruption that TikTok has caused in the broader social media space, with its intuitive algorithms helping to keep users glued to the app, by showing them more of what they like every time they log in.

And that, evidently, also includes products, with TikTok’s advanced matching systems able to highlight relevant items based on user preferences.

Which is why any U.S. company looking to buy the app will also be pushing to have its algorithms included. Thus far, TikTok management has declined to say whether that would even be considered, as it continues to fight the U.S. sell-off bid. But without the magnetism of its matching system, I doubt that TikTok is worth anywhere near as much.

The numbers here underline once again why this is so important.

You can check out TikTok’s latest product discovery report here.