TikTok users sent over $250M in digital gifts to livestreamers in Q3

According to a new report from The Information, TikTok users sent over $250 million in digital gifts to live-streamers in the app in Q3 alone, underlining a growing trend that could still lead to TikTok generating more income from in-app sales.

Trends like NPC streamers, via popular creators like Pinkydoll, have sparked broader interest in the practice, in which viewers can donate virtual gifts to trigger a reaction from the streamer.

That seems like a novelty, like it won’t be a lasting trend. But it doesn’t have to, because what TikTok really needs is to get users more comfortable in spending in the app, which will then ideally make them more open to spending on other in-stream elements, like products offered through in-stream Shops.