TikTok Shop has launched a new feature that allows users to purchase digital gift cards, making it easier for friends and family to buy from the app’s millions of products.
The feature was strategically rolled out during the holiday season – a high-stakes period for the company’s shopping division as it aims to prove its value to the market. This move to digital gift slots in the TikTok Shop to compete more directly with e-commerce giants like Amazon and eBay, both of which offer gift card options. TikTok Shop has recently expanded luxury retailanother move to establish its foothold in e-commerce.
Users can load the gift cards with anything from $10 to $500. What sets these cards apart is the ability to personalize them using a wide variety of animations. There are also cartoons for thank you cards, birthdays, weddings and other occasions.
Gift cards are delivered via email and recipients must have a TikTok account. Once redeemed, the value of the card is immediately credited to your TikTok Balance. Recipients can respond with a thank you note or even send a gift card in return.
However, gift cards can only be purchased in the US at this time.
TikTok said it plans to add features that allow users to further personalize gift cards. By early 2026, users will be able to record or upload video messages to attach to their digital gift cards. A company spokesperson said the experience will also include an “interactive unboxing that captures their reaction in real time,” but declined to share more details.
The launch of the digital gift cards comes after a major milestone for TikTok Shop: Over the four days of Black Friday and Cyber Monday, the app recorded sales more than 500 million dollars in the USA
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However, despite this achievement, TikTok Shop faces uncertainty as it approaches the sale of the app’s US operations to an American investor group. If no sale takes place, TikTok faces a possible ban in the country. President Trump extended the deadline to January 23, 2026, leaving the future of US implementation hanging in the balance.
