Ulta Beauty is now live on TikTok Shop, bringing one of retail’s most recognized beauty retailers into a channel where discovery and purchase increasingly happen side by side. 

For a retailer built on experience, assortment, and community, the move feels like a natural next step. TikTok Shop gives Ulta Beauty a new way to reach shoppers in the moment, when they are discovering a product for the first time, following a trend in real time, or ready to buy without leaving the platform. 

A new channel for beauty discovery, shopping, and growth 

The launch reflects a broader shift in how people shop. More consumers are finding products through content and expecting a faster path from inspiration to purchase. For Ulta Beauty, TikTok Shop offers a more direct path from discovery to checkout in a channel that is already shaping how beauty shoppers browse and buy. 

Rithum served as Ulta Beauty’s integration partner for the launch and ongoing management, supporting the work behind the scenes to bring the new channel to market. The launch builds on the long-standing relationship between the two companies. 

Ulta Beauty’s launch on TikTok Shop reflects how retailers are bringing discovery and purchase closer together. We’re proud to support Ulta Beauty as they expand into this channel and to build on the strong partnership we’ve established over time.

– Blaine Nielsen, President, Retailers at Rithum

The move gives Ulta Beauty a new way to connect with shoppers as they discover and buy on TikTok Shop. It also gives the retailer another way to reach new shoppers while deepening engagement with existing ones. 

A curated experience built for TikTok Shop 

Ulta Beauty’s TikTok Shop launch reflects that strategy through a curated experience designed for the platform, including exclusive bundles, early-access moments, and creator-led discovery. The result is a shop experience that feels native to TikTok while staying grounded in what customers already expect from Ulta Beauty. 

TikTok Shop is an exciting extension of Ulta Beauty’s discovery-led ecosystem, giving us another way to meet guests where the beauty conversation is happening and bring our trusted curation to life in a TikTok-native format. We see this as a complementary, incremental channel, and we appreciate Rithum’s partnership in bringing it to market.

– Josh Friedman, SVP, Digital and Ecommerce, Ulta Beauty

As social commerce continues to grow, TikTok Shop is becoming an increasingly important channel for retailers and brands that want to connect discovery and purchase more closely. Ulta Beauty’s launch extends its discovery-led approach into a new environment. 

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*Update: On April 4th, President Trump announced a 75-day extension, with the new deadline set to June 19, 2025. We’ll provide more details as they unfold, but the basics of this blog remain true: it’s an uncertain landscape, and preparation is key.*

For the past year, TikTok Shop has been navigating choppy, uncharted waters, with the storm cloud of a U.S. ban looming on the horizon. As the ever-changing deadline approaches, sellers who’ve ridden the platform’s wave of opportunity are (again) facing tough questions: Will TikTok still be available to my customers? Should I keep investing in my Shop—or investigate other platforms? And most importantly: What happens next? 

At Rithum, we’ve been charting this uncertain journey alongside our clients. While no one can predict exactly how the tides will turn, we’re here to help you read the skies, adjust your sails, and prepare your business for TikTok Shop staying live in the U.S., shutting down services, or continuing in uncertainty with an extended ban deadline.  

The future of TikTok Shop in the U.S.

The Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act (PAFACA) currently gives ByteDance (owner of TikTok) until June 19, 2025 to divest TikTok’s U.S. operations or face a nationwide ban. The platform briefly shut down for 12 hours in January 2025, in accordance with the original deadline. But even when the ban was lifted, for 25 days afterwards the app wasn’t available for download. As of this post, TikTok Shop’s current state is operational as usual for current users and available for new user download. But with the Supreme Court ruling to uphold the ban, the potential for another TikTok Shop shutdown is looming . . . along with another potential extension. Here’s what to plan for in any scenario. 

3 fast answers to the 3 biggest questions

If the TikTok ban goes into effect . . .  

• Will sellers lose all access to their TikTok Shop? Possibly, depending on whether TikTok enacts another shutdown similar to January, or simply stops new downloads and updates.
• Will customers still be able to shop on TikTok in the U.S.? If there’s no total shutdown, yes. But only existing users will have access and the experience could degrade without updates.
• Will TikTok Shop still be available outside the U.S.? Yes. The TikTok Shop continues to thrive globally, with recent expansions into Spain, Ireland, Italy, France, and Germany. 

The big takeaway from the January ban is no one knows how a ban would play out. But even in the worst-case scenario of a complete TikTok shutdown, sellers have options.

Here’s what to prioritize, no matter what happens with TikTok Shop

Priority #1: Optimize TikTok ASAP. Even as deadlines are extended, the murkiness around a TikTok ban continues. If the June deadline turns into a ban, there’s still plenty of opportunity within and outside of TikTok Shop.  

TikTok Shop’s unparalleled algorithm and affiliate network create a unique and engaging social shopping experience. If new users are unable to join in the U.S., the existing user base will become even more valuable as scarcity will help drive demand and sales with a highly engaged audience (assuming TikTok does not shutdown the platform for existing users if a ban were to go into effect). And beyond the U.S., TikTok Shop is still growing, with fresh opportunities for expanding your reach. 

Whatever happens, the first immediate step is to enhance your TikTok presence and shopping experience as much as you can, as soon as you can, to ensure the best user engagement. Over 7 million U.S. businesses use TikTok, and a recent Oxford Economics study estimates that the platform drives $14.7B in revenue for small businesses and a further $24.2 billion in total economic activity.ⁱ While the uncertainty is frustrating, it’s not a reason to divest from the platform—rather, it’s a reason to get as much out of this powerful tool as you can, while you can. TikTok Shop’s global presence is incredibly valuable and will remain so even if a U.S. ban goes into effect (not sure how to capitalize on TikTok’s global audience? Contact us). 

Priority #2: Diversify into additional platforms. As many experienced during January’s ban, relying on TikTok Shop (or any single platform) leaves you vulnerable to disruptions. This is not a TikTok specific issue, but one that commerce leaders have learned throughout digital history. In 2021, a 7-hour Meta outage brought online businesses that relied on the Facebook and Instagram platforms to a standstill.ⁱⁱ As Business Insider put it, you’re “at the mercy of an almighty landlord” when you’re “just renting space” on single platforms.ⁱⁱⁱ  

The takeaway for TikTok sellers: Ride the TikTok Shop wave through these rough seas . . . but have a lifeboat at the ready.  

Priority #3: Lean on Your Platform Partners: Rithum is already integrated with TikTok Shop and other major platforms, including Meta – Shops on Facebook and Instagram, making diversification easier. Our solutions help you prepare for cross-platform shopping by syncing inventory, offers, and customer service across TikTok Shop, Meta, YouTube, and other social channels.

Where will customers go if there’s a ban?

As always, the best way to reach customers is to go where they shop, scroll, and socialize. If TikTok disappears in the U.S., TikTok users will still be online: they’ll just migrate elsewhere. When India banned TikTok in 2020, Instagram rushed out Reels with India as the beta-tester . . . and within two years Reels accounted for 20% of time spent on Instagram and became its “fastest-growing content format by far.” Overall, most of India’s TikTok audience shifted to Reels and YouTube Shorts, making India the largest market for both Instagram (362M users) and YouTube (500M users) after TikTok’s exit.^iv On the flip side, businesses that invested only in Facebook during its peak suffered when TikTok exploded in popularity.^v 

After January’s scare, businesses said that Instagram (52%) and YouTube (42%) are the top platforms they plan to invest more into if TikTok Shop goes away in the U.S, with their own websites trailing not far behind (38%).^vi No matter what happens, agility is the biggest advantage. Sellers who can adapt quickly, diversify wisely, and optimize every platform are set-up to survive this disruption, or any similar technology upheaval (remember when X was Twitter?). 

Whether TikTok stays afloat or sails off into the sunset, we’ll help you ride the waves and chart a smart course for every channel. If you’re a current client, contact your account team to evaluate your overarching marketplace strategy. If you’re not yet a client, reach out here so we can get you in touch with our marketplace experts.  

Sources

i. https://techcrunch.com/2024/04/04/hoping-to-stall-a-ban-tiktok-says-it-generated-14-7b-for-us-small-businesses-last-year
ii. https://mashable.com/article/facebook-outage-small-business-impact
iii. https://www.businessinsider.com/facebook-instagram-outage-business-losses-money-2021-10
iv. https://time.com/7208112/what-happened-when-india-banned-tiktok/
v. https://entrepreneurship.babson.edu/businesses-and-tiktok/
vi. https://clarifycapital.com/impact-of-tiktok-ban-on-businesses

The post Get Ready Now: What TikTok Shop Sellers Should Do Before the Potential U.S. Ban appeared first on Rithum.

We’ve analyzed trends that stood out from the five-day period between Thanksgiving through Cyber Monday and how these lessons can impact 2025 e-commerce trends for brands and retailers. Consumers spent more online than ever before, according to Adobe Analytics data. For Rithum clients, AI, social commerce and retail media strategy took center stage. Here’s what brands and retailers are investing in to reach more consumers in 2025.

1. Explosion of product categories for third-party (3P) marketplaces is reshaping e-commerce in 2025.

Brands and retailers will continue to use artificial intelligence (AI) to manage product inventory across multiple sales channels including marketplaces and direct-to-consumer websites. Retailers like Amazon and Walmart use AI for real-time inventory management.

“Walmart’s rapidly expanding assortment presents new challenges to suppliers. However, our latest Walmart Categorizer, now in Rithum’s AI Magic Mapper, ensured seamless migration for hundreds of clients managing millions of SKUs. This highlights Rithum’s leadership in scalable AI solutions,” said Sebastian Spiegler, Director of AI, Rithum.

Rithum is currently focusing on Profitability Benchmarking, which is the process of identifying top channels, pricing strategies and returns insights.

“Profitability Benchmarking at the SKU-level is the ‘holy grail’ for brands. This process is a key 2025 focus area for Rithum and is already being piloted with strategic clients,” Spiegler said.

2. TikTok Shop will continue to revolutionize discovery and influence.

In just one year, TikTok Shop has become one of Rithum’s top 10 sales channels since launching in December 2023. This includes merchant giants like Amazon, Walmart, Target+, eBay and Zalando.

“TikTok’s innovative platform connects content with commerce enabling intuitive product discovery through viral, low-effort videos created by thousands of creators. TikTok account users with only a thousand followers are now product curators, streamlining affiliate marketing and enabling effortless monetization directly in the app,” said Lou Camassa, Director of Product at Rithum.

Currently, Rithum supports TikTok Shop in the US and UK, with launches in Spain and Ireland planned for early 2025.

“This is an incredible proposition for EMEA sellers to tap into a growing and dynamic market,” Camassa said

3. Brands and retailers are being more strategic about retail media budgets.

Consumers continued to shop well before BFCM in October. As a result, Rithum retail media clients spread-out retail media budgets.

“Rithum retail media brands and retailers had to strategically pace their seasonal budgets for a longer peak season before and after BFCM. Specifically, during BCFM week, we advised clients not to over-invest and instead ride a continuous wave of peak seasonality wins while managing the budget thoughtfully. While budget increases only averaged 3%, we were still seeing wins. This included meeting their efficiency goals with an average of 1.7 advertising cost of sales (ACOS) as one example,” said Meghan Barden, director, global retail media, Rithum.

Going into 2025, Barden believes that the promotional holiday period will continue to extend into October and well through the end of December. Clients should be prepared to extend their seasonal budgets to accommodate this length of time. Also, brands and retailers should be open to peaks and valleys in their spend and return. Leveraging product data YoY, such as noting high performing SKUs, is a strategic way to map the seasonal timeframe approach in 2025.

Delve deeper into what’s trending in third-party (3P) commerce in 2025.

Read more about trends in AI, cross-border commerce, social commerce, retail media and supply chain in Rithum’s 2024 State of 3P Commerce Report.

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