TikTok is a done deal – the time for waiting is over
There is no longer any excuse for U.S. retailers not to have an active TikTok presence.
After more than a year of uncertainty, the immensely popular short-form video platform has established a new entity called TikTok USDS Joint Venture LLC in compliance with an executive order from President Donald Trump.
[READ MORE: Trump okays deal to keep TikTok open in U.S.; extends deadline to 2026]
As previously reported, TikTok USDS Joint Venture has three managing investors: Oracle, private equity firm Silver Lake and the Abu Dhabi-based MGX investment fund, each holding 15%. Other investors include ByteDance, which will retain a 19.9% stake.
As a result, TikTok is officially allowed to operate in the U.S. without any fears of being banned or restricted. Here’s what that means for retailers:
Time for action
TikTok operates an e-commerce store in the U.S. which has proven popular and is only set to grow in usage now that TikTok has a full-fledged, dedicated U.S. operation. TikTok also offers numerous tools, such as seller badges and third-party authentication services, to assist retailers in conducting social commerce.
Beyond serving as a platform for online transactions, speakers at the 2025 eTail Boston conference said that TikTok is poised to revolutionize digital retailing Feliz Papich, senior VP of digital technology, experience & insights at Crocs Inc., described the "massive halo effect" the video-focused social media app has for Crocs.
"TikTok drives direct sales, it impacts sales on other channels," said Papich. "You want to create an environment where influencers will be. It’s not just transactional."
Since September 2025, I have been encouraging retailers to commence commercial activities on TikTok, if they haven’t already. Now there is absolutely no excuse to wait. You don’t have to rush right into full transactional sales, but at minimum begin leveraging TikTok as a means of building your brand and a community of customers and influencers who support and promote it.
Rome wasn’t built in a day
Retailers pursuing TikTok initiatives need to understand that the U.S. version of the app is running in a brand-new operational environment with significant changes to how data is managed and stored, as well as how content recommendation algorithms function. There will inevitably be bumps in the road as the new U.S. TikTok app moves forward as a separate entity.
Unsurprisingly, there have already been reports of TikTok U.S. having power outages and users having difficulty gaining access to some content. This is all to be expected with any new technology venture.
None of this should deter retailers from getting an early start to their new U.S. TikTok strategies. However, retailers do need have patience with the inevitable glitches and hiccups and include a little leeway for error in their plans for at least the first six months or so of any TikTok commercial or promotional efforts.
Seize the moments
Every social media platform offers the benefit of immediacy. You can react to events in the news and popular culture in real time in front of a potential audience of millions. In addition, posts and videos always hold the prospect of “going viral” and becoming part of the popular culture through widespread reposting, reformatting and commenting.
TikTok, with its emphasis on catchy short-form videos, is uniquely suited to allowing retailers to both quickly respond to pop culture events with clever videos and to have their promotional videos go viral.
While there is no surefire formula for capturing the public imagination, retailers should actively track trends and happenings and have a “rapid response team” ready to create a quick video to capitalize on them. And authenticity is the name of the game, so an amateur effort shot with an iPhone could very well outperform a slick, professionally produced video.
