by MELISSA AMEZCUA
The platform recently launched in Mexico and Brazil, where its fast fashion Chinese rivals already have a stronghold.
- With its future uncertain in the U.S., TikTok Shop is expanding in Mexico and Brazil.
- The company faces stiff competition from rivals Shein, Temu, and AliExpress in Latin America.
- New tariffs have hurt Asian e-commerce giants in Mexico but TikTok Shop has so far skirted them.
Yareth Zuñiga’s boutique in Ciudad Victoria, in northern Mexico, is usually filled with items from Chinese e-commerce sites Shein and Alibaba. In recent months, her stock has dwindled as new import taxes for Asian goods have caused shipping delays. She has instead turned to another e-commerce platform: TikTok Shop.
Since its launch in Mexico in February, TikTok Shop has drawn sellers like Zuñiga, an administrator at a public elementary school, who is able to make an income simply by promoting products on the platform without having to keep an inventory.
“It helps me grow and reach more people,” Zuñiga told Rest of World. Whereas earlier, TikTok had been little more than a place for her to share tidbits from daily life with her 46,000 followers, its e-commerce feature has now become a lucrative economic opportunity, she said.
Hundreds of sellers in Mexico have flocked to TikTok Shop in recent months, even as the app faces pressure in the U.S. A national security law passed last year requires TikTok to divest its U.S. business from its Chinese parent company ByteDance, or face a ban. President Donald Trump has delayed the ban thrice, with a deadline for this month extended by 90 days.
Facing uncertainty and slower sales in the U.S. because of trade tensions, TikTok has turned its sights to the south, launching first in Mexico, and then in Brazil — earlier than some analysts had forecast.
The e-commerce marketplace in Latin America is expected to exceed $1 trillion by 2027, a 100% increase from 2023, according to Payments and Commerce Market Intelligence, a market research firm. TikTok, with more than 111 million users in Brazil, and 81 million in Mexico — the region’s top markets — has an advantage over rivals Shein and Temu, which have an established presence in the region, said Carlos Corona, chief growth officer at Mindgruve, a digital market agency.
“TikTok Shop already has the organic traffic these other platforms are fighting for,” Corona told Rest of World. TikTok Shop has “a huge competitive advantage” in Mexico, which is among the top five countries with the fastest growth rates on TikTok, he said.
Alongside users, these countries also have fast-growing markets for advertising. Brazil and Mexico are the largest markets for advertising for TikTok after the U.S. and Indonesia, according to media agency We Are Social.
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