TikTok Shop Tests Paid Membership Program Priced at $6-$15/Month to Rival Amazon Prime

TikTok Shop has launched a test of its paid membership program dubbed TikTok Shop Plus, a service positioned to compete with Amazon Prime, according to foreign media reports. During the current testing phase, monthly membership fees range from $6 to $15, with varying pricing and discount levels offered to different users.

Screenshots of the test interface shared on social media show that member benefits cover three categories: free shipping across multiple product categories, exclusive member discounts, and additional monthly coupons. One user shared a membership invitation they received: a product priced at $54.99 qualified for an extra $10 exclusive member coupon. While the platform previously required a $60 minimum order for free shipping, users who signed up for the membership with a first-month free trial got direct shipping fee waivers, with a $10 monthly membership fee charged starting from the second month.

Eric Smith, senior director of alliances at TikTok Shop partner Pattern, noted in a LinkedIn post that tiered membership is a proven tactic Amazon uses to convert casual shoppers into habitual consumers, and TikTok Shop’s move is primarily focused on user retention rather than short-term growth. Vitalii Khyzhniak, an e-commerce consultant for TikTok, first shared details about the test program on social media back in July. He pointed out that TikTok’s consumer journey is centered on impulse-based discovery shopping, where users generate purchase demand after seeing creators showcase products, while Amazon’s journey is built around purpose-driven search, where users shop with clear needs and compare options before purchasing. TikTok Shop Plus will not replace the value proposition of Prime; instead, its core function is to lock in users who engage in discovery-based shopping and prevent churn when users switch to Amazon to compare prices.

Brandon Fishman, another e-commerce consultant, publicly noted in August that under TikTok Shop’s content-driven shopping model, users often struggle to find the same merchants again after making a single purchase, and tend to turn to Amazon to search for identical products when they want to repurchase. If TikTok Shop Plus officially launches, it will not only encourage users to complete purchases directly on the platform immediately when they discover products, but also drive users to return to the platform for repeat purchases, reducing order outflow to other e-commerce channels.

This article was first published on the official website of Ebrun.