This study measured the experiences of TikTok Shop users and the influences that encouraged them to purchase from TikTok Shop’s platform through qualitative research. Qualitative interviews allow for a topic to be explored through inductive measures when there is little existing information about it. This method allows for general assumptions to be made by examining participants’ experiences through inferences and interpretation (Davis & Lachlan, 2017, p. 309). Since TikTok Shop is currently less than a year old, there is little information known about how it varies from competitors, including Instagram Shopping.

This study aimed to interview eight individuals about their purchase experiences from TikTok Shop. To participate, individuals in this study had to be a part of Generation Z, ages 18-25 who have purchased from TikTok Shop at least once. This happens to be a large demographic on TikTok, with Generation Z making up about 44% of users (Lebow, 2023). Those who attended Endicott College were not eligible to participate in this research. Participants were recruited via Instagram Story on my personal account, asking viewers to message me if they have used TikTok Shop. Sampling a demographic using specific traits to filter people out is known as purposive sampling. This type of sampling uses specific groups chosen by the researcher to investigate a shared experience among participants (Davis & Lachlan, 2017 p. 314). For this research, the shared experience was their purchase from TikTok Shop. 

After each interview, the audio recording was uploaded to Descript to be transcribed and then read through for accuracy and corrected by myself. This is where I anonymized the data and removed any data that could have risked a participant’s anonymity. 

To maintain consistency throughout all 8 interviews, an interview schedule was used with prepared questions that were organized based on which research questions they aligned with. Every participant was asked the same questions with only some conversation straying from the structured schedule, to gain rapport or to clarify their answers. 

The interview schedule consisted of 11 key questions, with each followed by 2-3 probe questions that dug deeper into the topic they asked about. The interview schedule was divided into three parts that were based on the research questions. Some example questions can be found in the graphic to the right.