Glossier is joining TikTok Shop

TikTok Shop is quickly becoming Gen Z’s preferred way to buy beauty. Fenty, Tarte, and Maybelline have all seen rapid growth on the app. And now DTC darling Glossier is joining their ranks. The move marks the brand’s latest attempt to court Gen Z consumers—more than half of whom have made purchases via TikTok Shop. Roughly a third of Gen Z consumers say TikTok is their preferred shopping channel, and some 60% are on TikTok Shop daily. On top of that, last year beauty and personal care was the top-selling category on the platform, generating $2.5 billion in gross merchandise value.

Since it launched in the U.S. in September 2023, TikTok Shop has become the country’s eighth-largest beauty retailer, according to a NielsenIQ report. A consumer trends report from the New Consumer and Coefficient Capital even found that TikTok Shop—which, as of 2024, counted an estimated 150 million daily active users—was more popular among Americans than Shein and Sephora. Already, brands have seen success on the platform (Tarte, for example, brought in $4.85 million in sales via TikTok Shop in May alone).

The move is part of Glossier’s multi-platform expansion that includes its online store, 11 permanent retail locations, and a presence in retail wholesale. The company started selling at Sephora in 2023—its first major move to a wholesale retail model. The brand saw a $100 million lift in sales in the first year of the partnership.

“The transformation we’ve driven over the last four years has been deeply listening to [our] community and watching and seeing where they are going and how Glossier meets them,” says Glossier CEO Kyle Leahy, who adds that the company decided to sell on TikTok Shop now because of feedback from its fans and customers. The news comes after many brands, including E.l.f., L’Oréal Paris, and The Ordinary joined TikTok Shop last year.

Leahy says Glossier has 3 billion hashtag views on TikTok. That engagement could create a direct pipeline from conversation to purchase. “We are seeing with how our consumers are engaging on this platform that this is where the next generation is continuing to move in beauty,” she says. “It seems like the logical and very authentic next step for us to continue [to] connect with our community where they’re shopping for beauty.”

Glossier has already surpassed 1 million TikTok followers and has seen 15 million likes on its posts. Glossier’s brand-page TikTok content includes “day in the life” and “get ready with me”-style videos as well as influencer collaborations and behind-the-scenes content from the company’s lab.

While Glossier has carefully curated its in-store presence, with custom-made gondolas to create a consistent visual identity, the brand will have less control over its appearance in the online store, though it will still be heavily curating its posts. “Glossier’s always been about the community. It’s always about people’s stories. A platform like TikTok Shop where we are partnering with creators is actually a very uniquely Glossier thing,” Leahy says.

That doesn’t mean the brand is going all-in on its digital presence. Leahy says Glossier receives hundreds of handwritten letters and cards monthly—from wedding invitations to thank-you notes for “being there” at events like high school graduations and first jobs. 

Glossier’s next phase

Joining TikTok Shop can provide a huge lift to brands. Hailey Bieber’s cosmetic and skincare brand Rhode has yet to launch at a retailer, but it has sold more than 112,000 units via TikTok Shop. In May, partly on the strength of its popularity attracting Gen Z customers on TikTok, the company was acquired by conglomerate E.l.f. in a deal valued at $1 billion. Rhode’s products will be sold at Sephora starting in the fall. Other brands sold in retail have also created TikTok-specific drops on the platform, before the products enter retail.

Leahy, who spearheaded Glossier’s multi-platform sales approach after she joined in 2022, announced in June that she is leaving the company by the end of this year. Under her leadership, Glossier also expanded its successful fragrance business, which continues to dominate the category at Sephora.

Still, the company has found it difficult to maintain the momentum it once had. In June, Rachel Strugatz at Puck reported that Glossier—once valued at nearly $2 billion and rumored to be going public—is struggling to attract capital, with some investors saying the company is overvalued. A couple of months ago Glossier was raising a down round. According to Puck, the company was seeking $250 million, comprised of a $100 million investment into Glossier and a $150 million in secondary to buy out existing stakeholders. With the right marketing, a move to TikTok Shop may juice its sales enough for investors to rethink their stance.