I saw Brandon Fishman's post last week about TikTok Shop testing a “Buy Now”-onl
By Mollymmcfarland · September 15, 2026 · Curated by George's Blog
I saw Brandon Fishman's post last week about TikTok Shop testing a “Buy Now”-only CTA, and was thinking about how this might become a strategic lever now that personalization can happen at lightning speed (thanks, AI).
The testing is not surprising: All the big ecomm platforms have tested (some quietly) "Buy Now" vs "Add to Cart." Amazon tested killing "Buy Now" entirely back in 2020, leaving only "Add to Cart", but ended up keeping both buttons. Turns out shoppers wanted the shortcut AND the option to browse.
Brandon’s post says now TikTok Shop is running the same type of test, reportedly cutting the "Add to Cart"option entirely on some impulse items to kill the hesitation step. And it works. Sometimes. Apparently, they’re finding a ceiling: Once a product crosses roughly $30-$50, shoppers slow down and want to compare.
Feels like we'll see more emphasis the "right" CTA in the future: Can the proliferation of all these new tools/AI capabilities make these learnings more actionable? Soon, will platforms be able to toggle checkout friction up or down depending on where the interaction is happening, the price point, and how sold the shopper already is before they land on the page? Are we going to see personalized experiences based on a shopper's past behaviors?
Anyone seeing this out in the wild? (and thanks again, Brandon!)