One of the newest trends — and income streams, for some creators — is personal shopping on TikTok Live. The premise is that a personal shopper will head to a store while on Live and buy items viewers request on the live stream. The shopper will charge the buyer a finder’s fee, which serves as the payment to the creator who does the shopping, in addition to the shipping costs. The finder’s fee and item cost are paid while the shopper is Live before heading to the store’s checkout. This is not to be confused with TikTok Shop, which allows brands and creators to sell products directly to consumers through live streams, short videos, and storefronts on their accounts.
Some TikTok users have recently stumbled upon this trend and expressed curiosity about it.
Does TikTok Live personal shopping serve a need?
Personal shopping fans say that it makes shopping accessible for those who don’t have particular stores near them, who have disabilities or who lack transportation. Some Live shoppers are collectors who seek specific items — like those with Hello Kitty, Stitch or other popular characters — from stores nationwide. These users say it’s a win-win for the personal shopper and the viewer. Most shoppers go to discount stores like thrift shops, T.J. Maxx, Marshalls and Ross, which offer lower-priced options than department stores.
Not all personal shopping influencers are doing it via TikTok Live. Courtney Capano, a twin mom and lover of thrift shopping, offers thrift bundles to her followers across Instagram, YouTube and TikTok. She asks viewers questions about what they are looking for and their budget, then shops thrift stores for them.
Stacey is another personal shopper on TikTok who doesn’t use the Live feature but offers personal shopping to those who reach out to her via DMs.
Personal shopping examples on TikTok Live
Most creators who do TikTok Live personal shopping simply offer the service of finding, purchasing and shipping the items, not necessarily styling.
Mell, or menilovee on TikTok, offers personal shopping for her 36K followers. She explains her shipping process in this video.
@menilovee my personal shopping process. comment below if you have ant other questions! #personalshoppermell #personalshopper #personalshopping #personalshoppers
♬ original sound - Mell Shops
She is so successful that she shows piles of shipping boxes ready to send to buyers.
@menilovee hundred of paxkages to drop off this week! thanks for shopping yall! ❤️ #personalshoppermell #personalshopper #personalshopping #personalshoppers
♬ Play For Keeps - Runzo
Kim, who has 11K followers, goes on TikTok Live while shopping at Marshall’s, T.J. Maxx and HomeGoods. She uses CashApp to get payment during the Live. When she’s not on Live, she posts about how to go shopping on Live with her and her hauls.
CJ is another personal shopper on TikTok Live who usually focuses on T.J. Maxx and has over 15K followers. She loves sharing outfit ideas and other personal content on her page when not shopping on Live.
Kaitlyn, who has just over 1.6K TikTok followers, also shares her shopping trips. She explains how her shopping business works and when she plans to go live so her followers and possible buyers can find her.
T.J. Maxx had no comment on this trend. It remains to be seen whether the company will take a stance on this trend in the future.
Making money on TikTok
This new income stream is still new to the TikTok space, but its popularity is rising as more people look for ways to make money on the app. Other ways for creators to make money on TikTok:
- Creating a listing on izea.com for sponsored TikTok content.
- Generating affiliate income by promoting their favorite products.
- Pitching brands via Casting Calls for TikTok content.
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