TikTok has disclosed that 77% of interested shoppers on its platform search for additional product information after encountering affiliate content in their feed, according to Donte Murry, the company’s North America director of beauty, wellness, and personal care. Speaking to trade publication Glossy in May 2026, Murry emphasized that user comments are among the most influential elements driving purchase decisions on the platform, potentially more impactful than the content itself.
The disclosure comes as TikTok continues positioning itself as a serious commerce channel for brands and merchants. Murry advised brands to strategically consider the conversations they want to engineer in comment sections, asking “What kind of conversation do you want to start that can help influence that first purchase?” He also noted that second purchases from the same brand are most often driven by tutorials and educational content that explain product science, ingredients, and practical applications.
What This Research Represents
The 77% figure represents one of the first concrete data points TikTok has shared about post-view search behavior tied specifically to affiliate content, as opposed to general brand or influencer posts. The distinction matters because affiliate content typically features direct product links and commission structures, making the content creator’s incentive to drive sales more transparent than traditional sponsored posts.
TikTok’s commerce infrastructure has matured rapidly over the past two years, with the platform expanding TikTok Shop across multiple markets and building out affiliate and creator partnership programs. The platform’s focus on beauty, wellness, and personal care categories reflects where it has seen the strongest traction, particularly with younger demographics who use the app as a product discovery engine rather than a traditional social platform.
The emphasis on search behavior after viewing content aligns with broader shifts in how consumers research purchases. Rather than completing transactions immediately within TikTok, the majority of interested shoppers are moving to Google, brand websites, Amazon, or retailer sites to validate their interest before buying. This pattern creates both opportunities and friction for merchants trying to attribute sales and optimize their TikTok strategies.
The Impact on Merchants and Sellers
The 77% research rate means that TikTok affiliate content functions primarily as top-of-funnel awareness and consideration, not direct conversion. For merchants, this requires rethinking attribution models and measuring success beyond immediate click-through rates or in-app purchases. A shopper who sees an affiliate post at 9 PM, searches for the product the next morning, reads reviews, and buys three days later on the brand’s website will rarely show up in TikTok campaign reporting, even though the platform drove the initial interest.
Murry’s focus on comments as a purchase driver introduces a variable that most ecommerce operators do not actively manage. Unlike product review systems on Amazon or Shopify stores, where merchants can respond to feedback in controlled environments, TikTok comments are unfiltered, rapid, and driven by the platform’s algorithm favoring engagement over sentiment. A brand post with 200 comments asking “Does this actually work?” or “Is this worth the price?” can either validate interest or kill it, depending on whether those questions get answered by credible voices.
This creates an operational challenge for brands working with affiliate creators. The merchant has limited control over the conversation happening in someone else’s comment section, yet that conversation may determine whether the 77% of shoppers who search later actually convert. Brands working with multiple affiliates need to either provide creators with talking points and FAQs to seed productive comment discussions, or assign community managers to monitor and participate in high-performing affiliate post comments directly.
The distinction Murry drew between first and repeat purchase drivers is equally significant. If affiliate content and comments drive initial trials, but tutorials and ingredient education drive repeat purchases, then brands need to structure creator partnerships in stages. A one-off affiliate post might generate trials, but building long-term customer value requires ongoing educational content that explains why a product works, not just that it works. That typically requires longer creator relationships, more content investment, and potentially different compensation structures beyond simple affiliate commissions.
The Competition is Not That Easy to Beat
TikTok’s 77% post-view search rate offers an interesting contrast to how other platforms describe their commerce influence. Meta has emphasized in-app checkout and on-platform conversion through Facebook and Instagram Shops, while Pinterest has long positioned itself as a high-intent platform where users actively search for products. TikTok’s model sits somewhere between pure entertainment (YouTube) and high-intent discovery (Pinterest), where content is served algorithmically but sparks enough interest to push users off-platform to research further.
For merchants evaluating channel mix, this positions TikTok as a discovery and awareness platform that requires strong owned-channel infrastructure to capture the resulting search traffic. Brands with weak SEO, poor site experience, or thin product pages will struggle to convert the interest TikTok generates, even if their affiliate content performs well. In contrast, brands with strong organic search presence, robust review systems, and optimized product detail pages can benefit disproportionately from TikTok’s ability to create purchase intent that converts elsewhere.
The Analysis of the Research and What You Should Keep an Eye On
Merchants running or considering TikTok affiliate programs should audit whether their attribution and measurement systems can capture off-platform search and delayed conversions. Relying solely on TikTok pixel data or affiliate link clicks will dramatically undercount the platform’s influence if 77% of interested shoppers leave to research before buying. Incrementality testing, brand search volume tracking, and survey-based attribution become more important than last-click models.
Brands should also develop a comment strategy for affiliate partnerships. This could include providing creators with FAQ documents, ingredient explainers, or usage tips they can drop into comments when questions arise. Some brands may want to directly monitor high-performing affiliate posts and engage in the comments themselves, either through official brand accounts or by coordinating with the creator to address common objections or questions in real time.
Finally, merchants should consider the content mix Murry described when structuring creator partnerships. If the goal is customer acquisition, affiliate posts that spark curiosity and drive comments work well. If the goal is repeat purchase and retention, investing in tutorial content, ingredient breakdowns, and educational posts makes more sense, even if those formats generate less viral engagement initially.
Outlook
TikTok’s willingness to share specific behavioral data like the 77% search figure suggests the platform is trying to educate brands on how to measure and optimize for its unique commerce dynamics. As TikTok Shop expands and the company pushes deeper into transaction capabilities, understanding the relationship between content, comments, search, and conversion will determine which merchants can profitably scale on the platform versus those who chase viral moments without sustainable returns.
