TikTok is testing a paid membership program for U.S. shoppers called TikTok Shop Plus that's modeled closely on Amazon Prime, according to screenshots viewed by Business Insider.
The membership offers perks like free shipping, coupons, and other discounts on items. For example, one hair product that normally sells for $57 is discounted to $47 for Plus members and includes free three-day shipping. In other examples, Plus members are offered a $5 discount on beauty products that cost close to $50.
TikTok is testing the membership at various price points including $6, $10, and $15 per month, with no annual option seen at the moment.
I have more than several questions:
- Who pays for free shipping? TikTok or the seller?
- Similarly, who eats the discount? Or is this a concerted effort between TikTok and certain sellers? (ie: We'll give your product more attention if you offer a deal.)
- Do sellers get a piece of that subscription fee to cover the shipping or discounts?
- Does the free shipping offer come with a minimum speed? Or can free two-week shipping from Shenzhen qualify?
- Are e-commerce marketplaces out of names? Are the only options to choose from “Prime” or “Plus” when launching a membership program?
TikTok didn't respond to Business Insider's request to comment on the story, and they are the only outlet to report on it, so I currently don't have the answers to the questions above.
Here's the biggest question though: Do customers even want this?
Amazon Prime works because customers order a mix of household essentials, groceries, and impulse buys. The essentials make the membership invaluable, and the free Prime shipping no impulse buys is a bonus. TikTok Shop, on the other hand, is mostly impulse buys, many of which already bake a free shipping offer into the price. How much crap do I have to buy on TikTok Shop before the Plus membership becomes worth it? And am I willing to admit that I spend that much? I'd imagine that's what TikTok's test aims to discover.
My best advice to TikTok is to bundle value with the Plus subscription: free shipping, discounts, a microdrama subscription (its Prime Video), a monthly allotment of virtual gifts for users to give their favorite creators, plus value add-ons on partner services. The TikTok Shop perks might not be enough to justify the cost of a Plus subscription for users, but stacking it with perks from across its broader services and partner ecosystem could make it a no-brainer.
