TikTok tests Amazon Prime-style membership program TikTok Shop Plus in US

TikTok is taking a page from Amazon's playbook with a new membership program designed to boost customer loyalty on its e-commerce platform.

The social-video app is testing a Prime-style subscription service called TikTok Shop Plus for select US shoppers, according to screenshots of the offering reviewed by Business Insider.

What TikTok Shop Plus Offers

Built into TikTok Shop, the app's e-commerce platform, the program provides members with a mix of perks similar to Amazon Prime:

• Free shipping
• Product discounts
• Coupons

Pricing Examples

TikTok is testing the Plus service at multiple price points, including $6, $10, or $15 per month, according to the screenshots.

Discount examples:

• A hair product normally sold for around $57 was discounted to $47 for Plus members, with free three-day shipping
• A beauty product typically priced near $50 was offered with a $5 discount for Plus members

Strategic Rationale

A former TikTok Shop staffer said the membership program could help prevent shoppers from leaving the app to complete purchases elsewhere.

"TikTok, for a long time, watched a lot of their bottom-funnel buyers go over to Amazon," the former employee said. People would see an item on TikTok and "run over to Amazon to make a purchase."

"I think TikTok is really trying to squash that and capture as much of those final conversions as they can," they added.

Industry Context

Other major US e-commerce players, including Walmart and Target, have launched similar fee-based membership programs designed to build customer loyalty through free shipping and exclusive discounts.

TikTok Shop Plus is the latest in a series of product releases and strategy shifts at the ByteDance-founded company that mirror offerings popularized by Amazon. TikTok already provides its own full-service shipping and fulfillment service to merchants and has emphasized buyer-friendly features such as fast delivery windows.

Amazon Influence on TikTok's Operations

The overlap in ideas is not surprising. TikTok hired dozens of Amazon staffers when preparing to launch its US e-commerce business in 2023. Current and former TikTok employees previously told Business Insider that early staff meetings sometimes felt like Amazon alumni reunions. The company also adopted similar internal practices, including:

• Using narrative memos to share ideas
• Encouraging single-person ownership of projects from start to finish

Market Position and Growth

TikTok's US e-commerce business is projected to cross $23 billion in sales this year, according to EMARKETER, a Business Insider sister company. However, it remains a small player compared to Amazon, which EMARKETER expects will generate more than $500 billion in US sales in 2026.

TikTok is thinking long-term about expanding in the US market and building a shopping marketplace that approaches the scale of its Chinese sister app, Douyin, which drives hundreds of billions of dollars in annual sales.

"There are brands now that are TikTok-Shop first and do their new launches exclusively on TikTok," said Kierra Butcher, a TikTok agency partner who works with Shop creators. "TikTok has proven itself as a marketplace, and the opportunities have continued to grow with time."

TikTok did not respond to a request for comment.