Oh, wow, what a surprise this is.
Last month, in my outline of what’s coming next for the major social platforms in 2025, I noted that TikTok may look to implement “Mini Programs”, similar to what it already has in the Chinese version of the app (called “Douyin”).
“On Douyin, third-party developers are able to integrate “Mini Programs”, which are essentially smaller, more lightweight versions of their own apps within the broader Douyin ecosystem. That’s expanded its in-app marketplace, with Mini Programs available for ordering food, ride-hailing, buying tickets, etc., all within the Douyin app. So now, you can conduct a lot more of your daily transactions in a single platform, which seems to be a major drawcard for Chinese users, but it may also open up more opportunity for TikTok as well.”
And now, app researcher Radu Oncescu has found a new reference to “TikTok Minis” in the app.
As you can see in this note, TikTok isn’t testing “TikTok Minis” as yet. But they are seemingly on the way, which could provide TikTok with another avenue for driving transactional behaviors in the app.
As noted, Douyin’s Mini Programs cover all sorts of functions, and are available via the main UI, linking through to a marketplace of alternative, third party tools.
That provides more options for users in-stream, and has played a part in helping Douyin become a major commerce provider in China. Indeed, the app now generates the majority of its revenue from in-stream sales, and TikTok will likely be seeking to implement the same, as it works to re-shape user activities.
Following the Douyin growth blueprint, TikTok has been working to get more users shopping in the app, but thus far, Western audiences haven’t shown the same interest in expanded shopping functionality. TikTok’s in-stream revenue is growing, but it’s well behind the growth rate that Douyin saw in China, and as such, you can expect to see TikTok seeking alternative avenues to encourage more transactional activity in 2025.
Which will likely be via these mini apps. But then again, the precedent for this type of application also isn’t great.
Snapchat launched its own version of the same back in 2020, called “Snap Minis”, which it intended to expand to a range of third-party apps within the Snapchat ecosystem. Snap shut down its Minis project in 2022, amid broader cost cuts, and lack of user interest.
Meta has also tried similar, with branded Messenger bots back in 2016, but that also wasn’t well-received by users.
So there aren’t really any indicators to suggest that TikTok users are going to warm to this either. But again, with TikTok seeking to follow the growth strategy of Douyin, it makes sense that it will at least try it out, and maybe, years after these other projects, more users will now be more open to such in-stream.
It looks like we’re going to find out. TikTok is not actively testing this yet, but it seems like it will be coming soon.
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