Understanding customer behavior on TikTok Shop to optimize the shopping experience

7 default customer segments

Segment	Definition
Potential new customers	Have not purchased but added to cart/favorited in the last 30 days
Recent customers	Purchased for the first time in the last 30 days
Repeat customers	Have purchased before, repurchased in the last 30 days
Loyal customers	Multiple purchase orders in the last 90 days
Inactive customers	Purchased at least once in the last 365 days but have not repurchased in the last 90 days
New followers	Newly followed and still following in the last 30 days
Active followers	Already followed, interacted via LIVE/Video/Product Card in the last 30 days

You can also create your own segments — TikTok Shop recommends selecting at least 3 conditions for accurate and effective segmentation, based on 5 groups: demographics, purchasing behavior, followers, interaction, and past communication performance.

Three outreach objectives to apply for each segment

• Drive sales: share best-selling products, announce new launches, promote LIVE/promotions — suitable for “Recent customers” and “Active followers”.
• Encourage repeat purchases: turn followers into customers, urge them to return, attract inactive customers — suitable for “Inactive customers”.
• Build engagement: call for leaving reviews, sharing feedback — suitable for “Loyal customers”.

One-time plans and automatic plans

One-time plans send a message once at a scheduled time, which can include vouchers (regular/targeted/private) and attach 1-4 products. Automatic plans (unlimited parallel runs) trigger when customers meet set conditions — for example, purchase reminders, abandoned cart recovery, or incomplete payment recovery.

Risks to note

Sending messages too frequently to the same segment, especially “Loyal customers” and “Active followers”, easily leads to increased unsubscribe/ignore rates — the “Past communication performance” index (read/click/unsubscribe) is the exact data TikTok Shop uses to evaluate outreach effectiveness. You should monitor this index to adjust frequency instead of sending as much as possible.

Source

TikTok Shop Seller Academy — Communication Feature (updated 20 August 2026)