TikTok was a hot topic of conversation at the National Retail Federation’s Big Show in Manhattan this week. Multiple executives in attendance spoke about the double-edged sword of TikTok driving massive demand and the need to be prepared for it.
For example, Richard Cox, chief merchandising officer at Pacsun, said that in 2023, a single post from a content creator with fewer than 500 followers about the brand’s Casey low-rise baggy jeans led to the sales of 11,000 pairs in one night. That one post had a lasting impact on both that particular SKU, which has sold over 100,000 pairs since then, and Pacsun’s entire denim category. The brand has sold over a million pairs of jeans through TikTok to date.
“We embrace the viral moment,” Cox said. “We don’t try to predict or create virality. It happens naturally. But we do try to have some sort of plan going into the season. We take some bets from an inventory perspective to make sure we have enough of what we think people are going to want. But you never know what will happen on the platform.”
TikTok Shop increased its U.S. sales by over 400% last year and now drives over 20% of social commerce in the U.S.
The Western wear brand Tecovas isn’t on TikTok Shop yet, but it has made TikTok content and working with creators a large part of its marketing. Sam Fodrowski, Tecovas’s vp of brand marketing, said TikTok is an important brand awareness and customer acquisition tool. But like other brands, Tecovas is working to manage the scale that TikTok can help the brand reach.
“We’re not doing content at scale with thousands of creators,” Fodrowski said. “We’re scaling it much more methodically. We want to be protective of who we’re working with and make sure each creator is the right fit for the brand. But once we’re working with them, we’re hands-off with the content. We’re not telling them what to say or even what products to highlight. We look at what product is interesting to them and to our customers and follow that.”
The approach is paying off so far. Videos on TikTok about Tecovas from influencers like Emiie Sperandeo and Emily Ann Roberts have amassed millions of views for Tecovas. Fodrowski said the brand’s spending on TikTok has been more efficient than its spending with Meta so far.
Jenna Manula Linares, vp of digital marketing at Tarte Cosmetics, said brands need to understand the difference between TikTok and other platforms.
“People aren’t coming to your TikTok Shop page and scrolling it the way they do on your DTC site,” she said. “Someone on their For You page is directing them there for a specific product. Once they’re there, you have three seconds to deliver the product messaging and show what problem it’s solving.”
She pointed to Tarte’s CC Undereye Corrector, which went viral last year. The brand generated $5 million from TikTok Shop in May 2025 alone, primarily driven by the Corrector, which has become one of its most highly desired products. Manula Linares said Tarte has already sold 600,000 units of the Corrector on TikTok, which has had a halo effect outside the U.S. Tarte doesn’t sell through TikTok Shop in other markets, but the Corrector has become its most-requested product from international customers based on the hype generated by U.S. TikTok videos.
Tarte also has a unique strategy for managing the immense demand that can be generated by TikTok virality. While brands can’t control which products take off, they can control which products are available.
“We curate a smaller assortment on TikTok Shop,” she said. “You can control the catalogue, and if there are fewer options, then it’s easier to stay on top of demand when something goes viral.”
Finally, as brands scale up their TikTok Shop businesses, they need to keep an eye on profits. Glossy sister publication Digiday reported late last year that TikTok was offering new sellers on Shop many perks and discounts, such as $6,000 in coupons, free shipping and no joining fees. But that practice has stopped.
“They’ve started pulling back on some of that,” Manula Linares said. “We also know that the TikTok customer is very value-driven. So we’re always trying to find the right balance between offering value and being conscious of our profits.”
