TikTok Shop Rolls Out Gift Cards, Racing the Clock on a Potential U.S. Ban

TikTok Shop has launched digital gift cards in the U.S., a strategic move that puts it in direct competition with e-commerce giants like Amazon and eBay. The feature was rolled out during the critical holiday season, a high-stakes play for the company as it scrambles to prove its value in the American market under the shadow of a looming deadline.

Users can now purchase and send the gift cards, loaded with values from $10 to $500, via email. According to the company, a key differentiator is personalization; senders can choose from a wide variety of animated designs for occasions like birthdays and weddings. Recipients must have a TikTok account to redeem the card, which instantly credits their TikTok Balance. The feature is currently available only in the U.S.

TikTok said it plans to enhance personalization even further. By early 2026, users will be able to record or upload video messages to attach to their gift cards. A company spokesperson also mentioned an upcoming "interactive unboxing that captures their reaction in real-time," but declined to provide more details.

This launch follows a significant achievement for TikTok Shop, which recorded over **$500 million** in U.S. sales during the four-day Black Friday and Cyber Monday period. Despite this impressive momentum, its future remains uncertain. TikTok faces a potential nationwide ban if its U.S. operations aren't sold to an American investor group by the extended deadline of **January 23, 2026**.

PRISM Insight: TikTok Shop's aggressive feature expansion is more than a bid for market share; it's a calculated race against time. By embedding transactional tools like gift cards deep into the U.S. social fabric, TikTok is betting it can achieve a level of economic and cultural integration that makes a ban politically and commercially untenable. It’s an attempt to become too big to fail before its time runs out.