TikTok Shop has emerged as a major beauty sales channel in the United States, with K-beauty brands taking the top two spots in sales. Korean beauty companies are accelerating their push into the platform as social commerce gains traction.
According to e-commerce analytics platform Charm.io, TikTok Shop's U.S. beauty category generated gross merchandise value (GMV) of USD 980 million, or approximately KRW 1.44 trillion, in the second quarter of this year. That was up 82% from a year earlier and 6% from the previous quarter. Beauty sales alone reached USD 330 million in June.
TikTok Shop is a social-commerce platform that combines live shopping with creator-led commerce. It launched in the United States in 2023 and operates through in-app sales linked to content, without relying on standalone brick-and-mortar stores.
K-beauty brands continued to dominate on TikTok Shop. Medicube ranked first in second-quarter beauty sales with USD 62.8 million. The brand has also demonstrated solid consumer demand in the United States, with its Zero Pore Pad becoming the top-selling beauty product during Amazon Prime Day.
Dr. Melaxin followed in second place with USD 38.8 million in sales.
The two brands held the top two positions for a second consecutive quarter, driving beauty-category sales on TikTok Shop. In the first quarter, Dr. Melaxin led with USD 46.3 million, ahead of Medicube's USD 44.3 million, but the rankings reversed in the second quarter.
Both brands generated more sales than third-ranked Tarte, at USD 24.3 million, and fourth-ranked Based Bodyworks, at USD 15.9 million, combined.
By category, skincare remained TikTok Shop's largest beauty segment over the past 12 months, generating USD 844.1 million in sales, up 123% year on year. Makeup followed with USD 721.3 million, while fragrance generated USD 501.4 million.
TikTok Shop also demonstrated its growing competitive strength by surpassing Sally Beauty's quarterly revenue in the second quarter. Sally Beauty recently reported quarterly revenue of USD 903 million, below TikTok Shop's USD 980 million in U.S. beauty GMV for the same period.
Ulta Beauty, one of the largest beauty retailers in the United States, remained well ahead, reporting USD 3.16 billion in revenue for its latest quarter, spanning February through May.
K-beauty brands are increasingly treating TikTok Shop as a core sales channel to capture demand for digital retail. eMarketer projects that TikTok Shop's total U.S. digital sales will reach USD 23.4 billion this year.
COSRX's Peptide Collagen Hydrogel Eye Patch ranked first in TikTok Shop's eye-treatment category after a video by prominent creator Mikayla Nogueira generated 12 million views within five days.
Missha is expanding its presence on TikTok Shop by prioritizing partnerships with micro- and mid-tier creators. Laneige operates an affiliate network of about 200,000 members.
