The TikTok Shop Glossary for Brands and Agencies

A coordinated push to recruit and activate creators around a product or moment, the unit of work for scaling TikTok Shop sales.

The percentage of a sale a brand pays a creator for driving that order, the core incentive in any TikTok Shop affiliate program.

A trackable link or tagged product that attributes a sale to the creator who shared it, the mechanism behind affiliate commission.

A performance model where partners earn a commission for each sale they drive, the foundation of how products sell on TikTok Shop.

The average dollar amount spent per order, calculated as total revenue divided by number of orders.

Determining which creator, content, or ad drove a given sale, so credit and budget can be assigned to what actually works.

Automation that replies to creator messages instantly with relevant answers, so conversations move forward without manual delay.

A creator who represents a brand over time through an ongoing partnership, rather than a single post, building consistent affinity and sales.

The return on ad spend at which a sale exactly covers its costs, the minimum ROAS you need to avoid losing money on paid pushes.

The total cost to acquire one new customer, including ad spend, commission, samples, and the team effort behind it.

The full term for CTR: the share of viewers who click after seeing content or an ad, measured as clicks divided by impressions.

The direct cost of producing or buying the products you sell, the first cost subtracted from revenue to find gross margin.

A structured commission rate that varies by creator value or performance, used to reward top affiliates without overpaying the whole roster.

A short document that tells a creator what to make: the hook, key points, must-says, do-nots, and call to action for a piece of content.

A person who makes and publishes content (video, photo, writing) for an audience, the broad category that includes TikTok Shop affiliates and UGC creators.

What's left from an order after variable costs (product, fees, commission, fulfillment) but before fixed overhead. The real per-order profit signal.

The path a shopper takes from first seeing content to completing a purchase, with viewers dropping off at each stage.

The percentage of visitors or viewers who complete a purchase, calculated as orders divided by clicks or views.

The average amount paid for each click on an ad, calculated as ad spend divided by clicks.

The average cost to acquire one paying customer or order, calculated as total spend divided by conversions.

The cost to reach one thousand impressions, a standard way to compare the price of reach across ads and placements.

Any working partnership between a brand and a creator, from a one-off affiliate post to an ongoing ambassador relationship.

A system for tracking every creator relationship: contact status, samples sent, content posted, and performance, in one place.

The process of finding creators who fit a brand's product, audience, and performance criteria, the first step in any creator program.

The ecosystem of creators, platforms, and brands where individuals earn income by making content and selling to their audiences.

A reward beyond standard commission (bonus, contest, gift, tier upgrade) used to motivate creators to post more or sell harder.

The practice of partnering with content creators to promote and sell products, especially through affiliate and shoppable content on TikTok Shop.

The TikTok Shop surface where brands and creators find each other, with brands listing affiliate offers and creators browsing products to promote.

Contacting creators to recruit them into a program, usually via TikTok DM and email, the step that turns a shortlist into a roster.

The commission and bonuses a creator is paid for the sales they drive, processed by TikTok after orders clear their return window.

The full set of creators a brand actively works with, the asset a TikTok Shop program is built on and judged by.

Evaluating a creator's audience quality, engagement, content fit, and authenticity before recruiting them into a program.

When a creator grants a brand permission to run paid ads from the creator's own handle, used to scale high-performing TikTok content.

The percentage of people who click after seeing content or an ad, calculated as clicks divided by impressions.

A code that gives buyers a price reduction, often tied to a specific creator to drive conversions and track attribution.

A model where a seller lists products they don't stock, and a supplier ships orders directly to the customer when a sale is made.

How actively an audience interacts with a creator's content, measured as likes, comments, shares, and saves relative to followers or views.

TikTok Shop's fulfillment service that stores, picks, packs, and ships your inventory, similar to Amazon FBA but inside TikTok Shop.

TikTok's algorithmic feed of recommended content, the main surface where users discover products and creators.

The total dollar value of products sold through your TikTok Shop over a period, before fees, refunds, or ad spend are deducted.

TikTok Shop's automated ad solution that optimizes spend across product, video, and live placements to maximize total GMV at a target return.

The percentage of revenue left after the cost of goods sold, before operating expenses. The first measure of product profitability.

The number of times content or an ad is displayed, regardless of whether it was clicked. The top-of-funnel reach metric.

Partnering with people who have an engaged audience to promote products, ranging from paid sponsorships to performance-based affiliate deals.

Selling products in real time during a live video stream, where hosts demo products and viewers buy without leaving the broadcast.

The total profit a customer generates over their entire relationship with a brand, the counterweight to acquisition cost.

A creator with a large audience, typically 500K-1M+ followers, used for reach and credibility but at higher cost and lower per-view conversion.

A creator with a smaller but highly engaged audience, typically 10K-100K followers, often the most cost-effective partners on TikTok Shop.

Running multiple TikTok Shops from one place, the workflow agencies use to manage creator programs across many client brands.

A creator with a very small but loyal audience, typically 1K-10K followers, valued for high engagement and authentic niche reach.

What a business actually keeps after every cost is deducted from revenue, including product, fees, commission, ads, and overhead.

A TikTok Shop affiliate setting where any eligible creator can find your product and start promoting it at your set commission without an invite.

The audience that sees content without paid promotion, driven by the algorithm rather than ad spend.

A series of automated, timed messages to a creator (initial message plus follow-ups) that runs until they reply or the steps end.

Sending free product to creators so they can try it and create authentic content, the entry point for most affiliate relationships.

The percentage of orders that are refunded or returned, a drag on net GMV and a signal of product or expectation problems.

Revenue generated for every dollar of ad spend, calculated as ad revenue divided by ad cost. A 4x ROAS means $4 back for every $1 spent.

The profit generated relative to the total amount invested, accounting for all costs, not just ad spend.

Tracking which creators received product samples, what shipped, and who posted back, so seeding stays organized at scale.

The percentage of available inventory sold in a period, calculated as units sold divided by units received.

Your brand's share of total creator content, mentions, or sales in a category relative to competitors, a measure of category presence.

Video, LIVE, or posts with products tagged so viewers can buy directly from the content, the core unit of TikTok Shop selling.

TikTok Shop promotion tools that automate discounts and offers to lift conversion, such as flash deals and time-limited price cuts.

Buying and selling products directly inside social platforms like TikTok, where discovery, content, and checkout happen in one place.

A TikTok ad format that boosts an existing organic post (yours or a creator's) as an ad, keeping the native look that makes it convert.

A TikTok Shop affiliate setting where a brand invites specific creators with a custom commission and terms, used to recruit high-value partners.

TikTok's native ecommerce platform that lets users discover and buy products without leaving the app, powered largely by creator content.

A creator who promotes a brand's products on TikTok and earns a commission on every sale they drive through their affiliate link or video.

The platform charges TikTok takes on each sale, mainly a referral fee, plus optional costs like fulfillment, that shape your true margin.

A TikTok representative or partner manager assigned to help a shop grow, offering program access, support, and sometimes incentives.

A brand or merchant registered to sell products on TikTok Shop, with access to Seller Center, affiliate tools, and fulfillment options.

The back-end dashboard where brands manage their TikTok Shop: products, orders, affiliates, promotions, fulfillment, and analytics.

Authentic, creator-made content (videos, reviews, demos) that looks native rather than produced, the dominant format that sells on TikTok Shop.

A creator who produces authentic, ad-style content for brands to use, sometimes without posting it to their own audience.

The number of times a video has been watched, a top-of-funnel reach and interest signal for TikTok Shop content.