The Hidden Winner of Black Friday: TikTok Shop—The True Nature of the 'Third E-commerce' Revealed by '$100 Million a Day'

The performance of TikTok Shop during the 2024-2025 holiday season, particularly on Black Friday, will be recorded as a historic turning point in the global e-commerce market. The entertainment platform, once dismissed as a 'Gen Z dance video app,' has transformed into a massive economic sphere generating over $100 million (approximately 15 billion yen) in Gross Merchandise Value (GMV) on Black Friday alone. This fact goes beyond merely breaking sales records; it signifies that a new business model called 'Search-based E-commerce (First E-commerce)' represented by Amazon, 'Brand-based E-commerce (Second E-commerce)' led by Shopify and DTC (Direct to Consumer), followed by 'Discovery Commerce (Third E-commerce)' has become firmly established in the consumer behavior of Western countries, centered on the United States.

In this report, starting from the disruptive figures TikTok Shop achieved on Black Friday, we will analyze the structural reasons for its success from multiple perspectives. Specifically, we will clarify the fruition of a three-pronged strategic investment: the 'Shoppertainment' strategy that visualizes users' latent desires and connects them directly to purchases, advanced automated advertising technology represented by 'GMV Max,' and the construction of asset-light physical infrastructure in collaboration with logistics giants like FIEGE and ShipBob. Furthermore, we will comprehensively discuss its competitive advantages over rivals like Amazon and Temu, investment perspectives within a macroeconomic environment where inflation and tariff policies intersect, and the regulatory risks that continue to smolder.