Consumer Spending in TikTok Grew 77%

Users spent approximately $2.3bn in TikTok last year, an increase of 77% from $1.3bn in 2020, according to data from mobile analytics company Sensor Tower.

In Q4 2021 alone, consumers worldwide spent $824m in TikTok, more than double the amount spent during the same period in 2020. This sets the path for consumer spending to continue to grow strongly in 2022, particularly as TikTok gives more focus to trends like community commerce.

China remains the app’s largest market in terms of consumer spending, with a 57% share in Q4 2021, but this is down from 85% in Q4 2020. The United States is the second-largest market, rising its share from 8% ($30m) to 13% ($110m) over the same period.

Downloads of TikTok slowed last year, though, largely due to the app being banned in its largest market, India, in the middle of 2020. The app averaged 185m downloads each quarter last year.

However, Sensor Tower adds that user engagement is growing strongly. The average number of sessions and the time spent in the app by users rose 30% and 15% year on year in Q4 2021.

Consumer spending and user engagement look set to rise strongly in 2022 as TikTok branches out online shopping. Brands are following this trend, with 66% of marketers planning to increase their investment in TikTok this year, a share higher than all of the app’s competitors.

Credit: WARC