Most purchases online began with a search a few years ago. Today, millions of shoppers discover products while watching videos, scrolling through feeds, and engaging with creators. Social commerce has revolutionized the product discovery process into a shopping experience.
TikTok Shop, commonly known as TTS in eCommerce, is expected to drive eCommerce sales in the U.S. at about $23.41 billion in 2026, accounting for nearly 48% YOY increase. This expansion puts TikTok Shop in a league of the quickest expanding digital commerce platforms in the nation.
At the same time, the top brands are focusing on growing their web presence. The first-year-old Target's eCommerce sales rose 8.9% YoY in fiscal Q1 2026, while Costco's eCommerce sales entered fiscal Q3 2026 at 21.5% YoY. While both stores are still strong leaders in their own retail space, TikTok Shop's success is sparking industry interest.
Royal Digital Agency views TTS e-commerce growth in the US as evidence that consumer behavior is evolving rapidly. Content is increasingly being the focus of shopping, creator-driven, and even embedded right into social channels.
TikTok Shop or TTS is the integrated commerce platform of TikTok that enables consumers to discover, assess and buy products without leaving the app.
TikTok Shop is discovery-driven, whereas the traditional eCommerce site is search-driven. Products are integrated into the video, live stream, recommendations from creators and personalized feeds.
Several features make TikTok Shop unique:
TikTok currently attracts more than 170 million U.S. users, and industry experts estimate that brands can reach the audience through the platform by leveraging engaging video content rather than traditional ads.
There are not many retail tales that have captured as much attention as TikTok Shop's explosive growth in 2026.
Retail eCommerce is shifting fast, and the 2026 numbers make that hard to ignore. TikTok Shop alone pulled in $23.41 billion in U.S. eCommerce sales, growing 48% year over year — a pace that dwarfs traditional retail growth. Compare that to established players like Costco, which posted 21.5% eCommerce growth, or Target, which grew online sales by 8.9% overall, though its Target Plus marketplace saw nearly 60% GMV growth on its own. Perhaps most telling: small businesses selling on TikTok Shop grew sales by 66%, signaling that social commerce isn't just a channel for big brands — it's becoming one of the fastest ways for smaller sellers to scale.
It's a very unusual growth rate in a mature retail market. TikTok Shop keeps growing with more retailers adopting the social commerce channel, whereas the majority of big retailers prioritize incremental growth.
One of the key factors is consumer behavior. The study reveals that younger consumers are finding products via social channels before heading to retailers' sites or search engines. This trend is especially critical to TikTok Shop as it is an equally integrated discovery and purchase platform.
When you look at the TikTok Shop in comparison with Costco and Target, you'll see that there are three very different online retail experiences.
Costco continues to dominate through:
It's still about trusted relationships with retailers and valued convenience, as its eCommerce growth rate of 21.5% shows.
Target has strengthened its online presence through:
Target Plus GMV increasing nearly 60% highlights the company's commitment to digital transformation.
TikTok Shop operates differently.
Products aren't waiting for customers to find them – instead, they are being found. It happens organically as users are eating their entertainment and the purchasing process is shortened and becomes more impulsive.
TikTok Shop offers a fresh disruptive approach to shopping that's based on attention, not search, for brands considering the best e-commerce platforms in the USA.
The days of selecting retailers based on the number of stores, amount of stock or hits on their websites are over.
TikTok Shop's ability to impact customers' purchasing decisions at an earlier stage in their buying cycle makes it one of the leaders in online retail sales in the US.
Studies show that images of products alone are not as effective at getting consumers to buy them as are real-world product displays.
This behaviour change is why TikTok Shop is quickly taking a bite out of the market.
Creators sit at the center of TikTok Shop's success.
Creators' content is more personal and relatable than traditional ads. B2B sales can benefit from product recommendations from creators as they show how products are used in real-life scenarios.
There are a multitude of reasons for creator-driven conversions:
Research has also confirmed that consumers have a greater faith in user-generated content than brand messages. This trust has an impact on conversion rates, directly.
One of the fastest growing parts of social commerce is livestream commerce. TikTok Shop leverages livestreams to create interactive shopping experiences where viewers can:
Livestream commerce sales have reached hundreds of billions of dollars per year worldwide, and is gaining momentum in North America.
Beauty, fashion, electronics, wellness products and home goods are excellent products to choose during livestream events as the consumers can see the products in use before deciding to purchase.
Brands that do this with livestream selling tend to see increased engagement and conversions.
Social discovery has emerged as one of the most influential today in eCommerce.
Today, the products are increasingly being met by consumers via:
Social Media are crucial for discovering new products, and search engines are still vital.
A recent trend among Gen Z and younger Millennials shows many consumers using TikTok as a product research tool before visiting retailer websites.
This type of behavior brings a new reality to brands. Now, it is not enough for consumers to show up where they look for information—it's more important that they show up where they put their minds.
The TikTok Shop is a great benefit as discovery, engagement, and purchase can all be done in a single platform.
The growth of TikTok Shops has some great lessons to share for businesses looking to grow their eCommerce sustainably.
Successful brands are focusing on three priorities:
Content First: Before buying, consumers interact with valuable, engaging and educational information.
Trust Building: Buying decisions are based on authentic reviews, creator partnerships and customer testimonials.
Frictionless Buying: Quick checkout will lead to lower drop-off and higher conversion rates.
As social commerce keeps growing, brands that need only stick with conventional advertising could find themselves in trouble.
Today's shoppers want the shopping experience to be natural, informative and convenient.
Social commerce trends don't require companies to give up on old marketing channels. Rather, they should take steps to build up their digital ecosystem.
Recommended strategies include:
Brands are now more likely to embed social commerce within their marketing plans, breaking the silos of social commerce, and not as a standalone campaign.
This integration can increase reach on a number of touchpoints to the customer.
TikTok Shop demonstrates how quickly digital commerce can evolve. Old school marketing funnels divided the awareness, the consideration and the conversion into different phases. Social commerce puts those steps into one.
All within a few minutes. This efficiency opens the door for brands that can deliver captivating content and establish credibility rapidly.
Companies that utilise these channels well will be in a better position for long-term growth.
The surge in TikTok Shop is just a part of the shift in digital commerce.
Consumers' expectations are still evolving and evolving towards personalized, engaging and convenient experiences. Nowadays, content plays a significant role in the buyer journey – almost at every stage.
Royal Digital Agency helps brands adapt to these changes through:
Today, it's not enough to be visible, you have to be seen. Brands need to design genuine experiences to make use of the time to generate revenue.
TikTok Shop is TikTok's in-built shopping platform, known as TTS. Users can find products in the videos, creators and livestreams before buying it directly in the app. The platform is a single experience solution with content and commerce.
Consumer shopping habits are changing, as evidenced by the growth of TikTok Shop. With projected U.S. sales of $23.41 billion in 2026, social commerce is rapidly gaining momentum in online retail and digital marketing.
Yes. The forecasted growth rate of 48% for TikTok Shop is higher than Costco's eCommerce growth of 21.5% and Target's online sales growth of 8.9%. This sort of performance makes TikTok Shop among the quickest developing ecommerce platforms in the United States of America.
In TikTok Shop, you can discover products, learn from creators, shop live in TikTok, and complete your transaction in-app. It is a top social commerce platform because it can influence customers' buying decisions early in the buying process.
Top eCommerce brands are customer-focused, trustworthy, convenient, and innovative. TikTok Shop adds another lesson by showing how content, creators, and community engagement can directly drive sales and customer acquisition.
TikTok Shop's expected expansion is one of the most crucial retail trends of 2026. But Costco and Target are still formidable competitors and they have solid digital businesses too. However, TikTok Shop's ability to combine entertainment, discovery, trust, and purchasing has positioned it among the fastest-growing platforms in online retail.
Consumers are getting to know products in the first place through creators, videos, and social communities, before buying products.
Those brands that are willing to adapt and embrace this change will find new opportunities for growth, customer acquisition and long-term customer loyalty.
Businesses looking to capitalize on TTS e-commerce growth in the US, compete with US online retail sales leaders, and learn from the top e-commerce companies in America should prioritize content-driven commerce strategies moving forward.
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