Analyzing TikTok’s Transformative Impact on Consumer Behavio r and SME Growth

Social media has quickly become one of the most powerful tools for small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs). While existing research has established the value of social media for branding and marketing, few explore how advancing integrated platform tools actively shape consumer behavior and small business growth. This paper aims to address this gap by examining the social media platform TikTok and how its unique features enhance consumer experience and create greater opportunities for SME reach and growth. The results find that TikTok uniquely blends commerce into its entertainment platform through algorithmic exposure, cognitive triggers, and business outcomes. TikTok’s algorithm drives passive product discovery by pushing tailored content, keeping users engaged while aligning preferences with relevant products. TikTok’s cognitive triggers, including platform-wide discounting, perceived value enhancement, creator-community trust and integrated creator tools, operate naturally within TikTok’s short-form entertainment feed. Together these triggers increase user satisfaction and reduce friction, while increasing SME success through greater reach, conversion, and engagement, at low to no costs. Through a qualitative case study of TikTok, this paper analyzes observed platform features using established theory and research contributing to the growing body of social commerce literature.