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TikTok users spent $3.8 billion on the app in 2023, up 15% from the previous year, according to new statistics from data.ai. This shows the platform’s enormous potential to expand into other markets.
It’s the Asian tiktok market … right?
The short answer is no. You’d be surprised to know that the asian market isn’t even top 3.
As per data.ai:
“Consumers in the United States are tied with iOS users in China for the amount of TikTok’s life-to-date revenue they’ve contributed. Both have generated approximately 30% of it alone, and together comprise 60% of the total, or about $6 billion. After that tie for #1, the top five markets are rounded out by Saudi Arabia at #2, Germany at #3, the United Kingdom at #4 and Japan at #5. Those four countries combined contribute about 13% of the app’s IAP revenue.”
So despite the application in China being a massive success, the westerns have been spending far more on just invisible coins.
Real money to buy fake money
As you’ve probably heard by now, TikTok users can now purchase “Coins” to then purchase “gifts” to give them to their favorite creators, that’s either through TikTok lives or even just on the comment section.
In-stream shopping
The Chinese version of the app, named “Douyin,” now makes most of its money from in-stream buying, with in-app purchases typically serving as an extension of the user’s initial viewing activity.
Other Asian countries have had success with TikTok’s in-app shopping, such as Indonesia, where the company has recently been given permission to resume its in-app sales campaign after the country’s government attempted to impose restrictions on the practice out of worry that it would hurt small companies.
Therefore, TikTok has more opportunities to sell goods in-stream; it just hasn’t figured out how to persuade Western consumers to change their spending habits just yet.
Anticipate TikTok to further push this in 2023, most likely through in-stream meal delivery transactions, which have already shown to be successful in China.
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