TikTok Shop is charging its most loyal US customers $9.99 a month for coupons, an extra 10% off selected products and free shipping, bringing more of the discounts and rewards traditionally offered by coupon and cashback partners into its own app.
The pilot, called TikTok Shop Plus, has been offered to more than a million US shoppers that TikTok identifies as its most loyal, after a 30-day free trial. Members get three coupons each month, $5 off with no minimum spend, $10 off orders of $59 or more and $30 off orders of $119 or more, plus extra coupons over Black Friday and Cyber Monday.
Modern Retail first reported the details on 9 November. "TikTok Shop Plus is currently being piloted with an expanding group of eligible U.S. users," said Patrick Nommensen, TikTok Shop's president of strategic initiatives.
Members can also receive instant refunds on qualifying products up to twice a month, issued as TikTok Shop credit before they return the item. Alongside coupons tied to minimum basket values, the rewards give shoppers another reason to spend within TikTok rather than looking elsewhere for a deal.
Business Insider reported a shipping-only test in July. The coupons and Black Friday perks are new.
Who pays for the discounts?
Neither report says who funds the 10% or the coupons. If sellers do, a brand on TikTok Shop could be giving a Plus discount on top of the commission it already pays creators through TikTok's affiliate programme, and on top of its own Black Friday offer. Brands selling there could ask TikTok how Plus discounts are funded and whether they stack with creator commission before the peak weeks.
For cashback and voucher businesses, the challenge is a platform that owns the shopper, the content and the checkout, and now the reward as well. Some are already moving the same way. Ziff Davis rebuilt its RetailMeNot app as a "loyalty first" product around cashback and verified codes, and said app commissions rose 25% in September, as we reported this week. Affiliate consultant Julian Henrichs argued in May that cashback and loyalty publishers are better placed than coupon sites as codes get surfaced elsewhere.
TikTok has not said whether Shop Plus will come to the UK, where TikTok Shop also operates. At $9.99 a month, it undercuts Amazon Prime ($14.99) and Walmart+ ($12.95) in the US.
TikTok Shop's US Black Friday and Cyber Monday campaign starts on 11 November and runs until 30 November. The platform says it generated more than $500 million in sales over the four-day shopping weekend last year.
For affiliates, the question is whether shoppers who once searched for a voucher or cashback offer will increasingly find the incentive to buy inside TikTok itself. For brands and creators selling through the platform, it is who ultimately pays for those incentives.
