The first non-game app to hit $10 billion in consumer spending goes to TikTok. The popular short-form video platform is smashing through targets, and is well on its way to becoming the highest-grossing app.
Short-form videos have become extremely popular over the last few years. What started out as a lockdown craze, something to pass the time, eventually became part of every day life. With more and more people finding themselves hooked to the app.
Many have gone as far as saying they feel addicted to TikTok. The endless scrolling with no real purpose has become a popular pass-time for a lot of individuals. Younger audiences are even becoming captured by the appeal of social media.
With fun trends and catching songs to lip-sync to, it’s hardly surprising. Users become so invested in creator’s lives that they feel part of it. Meaning, they need to know more. Which in turn leads to more views for the creators themselves.
More views equals more money for those who are able to earn through TikTok. Where does this money come from? Well, unlike other social platforms, the money creators earn on TikTok isn’t just from adverts and product promotion.
TikTok’s creators earn a living through the app
In fact, a great deal of creators earn their living through the generosity of their viewers. Some viewers have found themselves in great financial hardship due to feeling like they must support their favourite creators by gifting them.
Gifting refers to sending money to creators on TikTok. However, of course, with any social media platform, TikTok take their cut first. Creators won’t see all the money sent to them by viewers. They will see a large chunk of it, but the app will take their percentage first.
This method clearly works for all parties, though. Some creators are earning thousands each week from the platform, and TikTok aren’t coming out of it too bad either. In fact, they’ve set themselves a new record, and smashed through their previous ones.
TikTok is officially the first non-gaming app that has reached $10 billion from consumer spending. Now, it’s easy to see how games reach this because with skins, add-ons and all in-app purchases, it soon adds up.
How has TikTok reached the $10 billion milestone?
However, how has TikTok achieved this? Well, simply, through gifting, and their store. You see, TikTok’s store was once something many didn’t trust, but is now used by businesses of all sizes. Well-known and independent businesses use the platform to sell.
TikTok became the first mobile app to generate more than $1 billion worldwide in a single quarter. This was in Q1 of 2023 alone. Since then, it has continued to rise. Consumer spending being the moneymaker.
It entered 2023 with a total of $6.2 billion in consumer spending, and went on to add $3.8 billion throughout the year. Virtual gifts and tipping is how it managed to get there. Both Tinder and YouTube are close to the $10 billion milestone, but neither have reached it yet.
The video app offer a coin system which allows users to buy coins which they can then use for gifts. The gifts are all worth a certain amount of coins each. But, the most popular coin bundle to buy is one for $19.99 which gives 1,321 coins.
That sounds like a lot of coins, but they soon vanish. With TikTok claiming a percentage of each creator’s earnings, it’s easy to see how they make far more money than that of Instagram or Facebook. Is it right? Who knows, but viewers are quite happy to spend.
