Growing TikTok Shop Buyers Through Search Intent and In-App Product Discovery

You are a product manager for TikTok Shop, the shopping service built into TikTok. How would you use search and other discovery features to win new users for the Shop? ```hint Follow the intent Look for the moments when someone on TikTok already wants a product and is searching, or about to search, for it. Ask what stops that moment from turning into a first order. ``` ### Clarifying Questions - Does "new users" mean first-time buyers, or should new sellers and affiliate creators count as well? - Are we converting existing TikTok users who have never bought on the Shop, or reaching people who are not on TikTok at all, for example through web search engines? - Which markets are in scope: countries where the Shop already operates, or new launches? - Is one first order the target, or does an acquired buyer need to purchase again within some window? ### What a Strong Answer Covers - A precise definition of an acquired Shop user and a goal tied to that definition - Segments ranked by shopping intent and by whether they already use TikTok, with one chosen and the choice explained - Discovery-based solutions (in-app search, entry points inside videos and comments, off-platform search), each tied to a barrier on the path to a first order - Prioritization, a north-star metric with a funnel behind it, and a way to measure incremental first purchases - Guardrails and risks: the entertainment experience, buyer trust and seller supply ### Follow-up Questions - How would you keep shopping results from making search worse for people who only want entertainment? - Search-driven first purchases rise, but those buyers rarely order again. What would you investigate and change? - How would you separate first orders your changes caused from ones that would have happened through the feed anyway?