TikTok Shop starts selling alcohol amid age verification criticism

TikTok Shop trials selling alcohol in the United Kingdom: whiskey, vodka, and beer, among other beverages, are available for purchase on the platform, which is already under fire because of its popularity among children and young people.

Johnnie Walker on TikTok

In the United Kingdom, products currently available on TikTok Shop include Johnnie Walker Black Label whiskey, AU Vodka, and beer from Estrella Damm. This is part of a pilot program for alcohol sales, though for now it remains limited to a small group of licensed sellers. TikTok also does not (yet) automatically display these products in users’ “For You” feed: anyone who wants to see them must explicitly search for them in the TikTok Shop tab.

To prevent minors from purchasing alcohol, the platform says it is implementing a three-step age verification process. TikTok verifies age when an account is created, again when the order is finalized, and a third time upon delivery, when the driver must first check an official ID before handing over the alcohol.

Investigation into age verification

According to TikTok, users under the age of 18 are never granted access to TikTok Shop and do not see e-commerce content in their “For You” feed. Users can also opt out of seeing alcohol advertisements on the platform.

However, consumer organizations and the UK regulator have long been concerned about age verification on TikTok, which is particularly popular among children and young people. On July 16, Ofcom launched an investigation into whether TikTok is doing enough to prevent children from encountering harmful content—separate from the current issue of alcohol sales. There are particular doubts about the platform’s effectiveness in estimating ages.

Budding online department store

For TikTok, the alcohol test fits into its broader ambition to turn its video app into a major sales platform as well. Major British department stores such as Marks & Spencer and John Lewis are already selling through the channel.

During the most recent Black Friday and Cyber Monday period, TikTok Shop’s revenue rose by 50%: the platform reported selling 27 products per second during that time, while search traffic increased by 47% over the past year. After all, more and more consumers are using the app to search for and discover products.