Business owners, future entreps pin income hopes on social commerce

TikTok Shop rolls out e-commerce workshops to grow its seller base nationwide

TikTok is doubling down on e-commerce in the Philippines, turning its reported 94.6 million monthly users into a potential army of online sellers. Through its Unlad Lokal Roadshow Caravan launched in Taguig City, the platform is training entrepreneurs and students to navigate digital sales—part of its bid to capture a bigger slice of the country’s growing social commerce market.

The caravan builds on the company’s Unlad Lokal Program with the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), which started in March 2025. The series aims to onboard micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) into e-commerce by providing workshops on digital marketing, live selling, and affiliate programs—skills now essential to compete in an increasingly online marketplace.

Traditional businesses go digital

Many of the businesses thriving on TikTok Shop are run by digital natives—content creators and young entrepreneurs who know how to turn followers into buyers. But more traditional business owners are also beginning to test the waters, looking to ride on TikTok Shop’s surge in popularity.

Jeniffer Decamon, a mother of three and food vendor, was one of the attendees at the launch. The pandemic forced her to move online, selling to friends and family before eventually starting an online ukay business last year.

“I’m used to selling on Facebook, but I want to try TikTok too so I can grow my business. I had a hard time figuring [TikTok] out but the talks surely helped,” she told radar Business in Filipino.

The workshops covered topics such as affiliate marketing, content creation, and managing a TikTok Shop profile—areas where many small entrepreneurs still struggle to keep pace with younger, digitally fluent sellers.

For vendors like Decamon, the shift to TikTok represents a chance to formalize their small operations. Platforms like TikTok Shop streamline logistics and payments, lowering entry barriers for those without prior e-commerce experience.

Rhea Sanchez, a kakanin vendor who manages everything from production to delivery on her own, said she’s intrigued by the platform’s built-in marketing tools.

“It could help to have other people promote my products and have [TikTok Shop] manage the deliveries,” she said.

Their experiences mirror a broader trend: microentrepreneurs are moving from informal selling on Facebook and Viber to structured, app-based systems that handle transactions end to end. For platforms like TikTok, this migration signals a fresh source of merchant growth—and for vendors, a foothold in the country’s fast-evolving digital economy.

TikTok’s strategy hinges on expanding its seller ecosystem. Industry watchers note that training programs like Unlad Lokal not only help MSMEs go digital but also deepen TikTok’s market penetration amid intensifying competition with Shopee and Lazada in the social commerce space.

Turning ‘budol’ into a side hustle

Students made up more than half of the 600 participants at the launch—unsurprising, given that 80.1% of Filipino youth use TikTok, according to the 2025 Global Digital Report. But their interest went beyond shopping; many see TikTok Shop as a gateway to income.

“I buy something off TikTok Shop almost every month. The discounts are really appealing and I can count on packages to arrive the next day. You can say I’m a victim of budol,” said Melanni Inojales, an aspiring entrepreneur.

As a graduating business administration student, Inojales said she wants to use TikTok Shop to earn on the side through affiliate marketing.

“I want to try affiliate marketing because I want to promote authenticity on the platform. I actually have a new phone, so I see this as my initial investment into serious content creation and promotion on TikTok Shop,” she said.

TikTok’s affiliate system allows creators with at least 600 followers to earn commissions for every purchase made through their content’s “yellow basket” links. It’s a low-barrier way for students to enter the creator economy—turning what used to be impulse spending into an entrepreneurial experiment.

For TikTok, cultivating this demographic could be key to sustaining growth. Younger sellers bring energy and authenticity to the platform, while providing the kind of grassroots reach traditional ads often fail to achieve.

Expanding across the country

TikTok Shop head of marketing Franco Aligaen said the caravan will eventually reach more cities in Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao next year.

The roadshow also aligns with the Department of Information and Communications Technology’s Trabahong Digital Roadmap, which targets eight million digital jobs by 2028.

“Each digital job has the power to change lives. We are committed to assisting each Filipino in their digital and e-commerce journey through this program,” said DICT undersecretary Renato Paraiso.

For TikTok, the government partnership reinforces its position as both a content hub and commerce driver—one that not only entertains but also empowers sellers to participate in the digital economy. As MSMEs and students alike look for new income streams, TikTok Shop’s blend of entertainment, marketing, and retail could redefine how Filipinos buy and sell online.

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