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From restaurant guides to payments, here’s how TikTok is building a super app

TikTok announced this week that it’s adding an in-app restaurant guide, marking another step in the platform’s expansion beyond social media. The company has also recently been spotted developing a feature that would allow users to send money over direct messages. The social media app has steadily expanded its offerings in recent years, adding TikTok Shop, a map for local discovery, more robust search features, games, and more. It appears that TikTok is taking steps to evolve into a “super app,” a single platform where users can do much more than just watch and share videos and that can actually handle a wide range of needs in one destination. The super app model is big in China with apps like WeChat, which is kind of like Facebook, WhatsApp, Apple Pay, and an app store all rolled into a single platform. Of course, there’s the question of whether a super app model would work outside of China, but that doesn’t mean TikTok won’t try. Instead of switching between apps, TikTok is working to become the app that people use for most of their digital activities. After taking its biggest leap with TikTok Shop, the company — which, notably, transitioned to new, primarily U.S. ownership back in January — has applied the same playbook to recent developments.

TikTok 本周宣布将增加应用内餐厅指南，这标志着该平台在社交媒体之外的扩张又迈出了一步。该公司最近还被发现正在开发一项功能，允许用户通过私信发送资金。近年来，这款社交媒体应用不断扩大其服务范围，增加了 TikTok Shop、本地发现地图、更强大的搜索功能、游戏等。TikTok 似乎正在采取措施演变成一个“超级应用”，即一个单一平台，用户在这里不仅可以观看和分享视频，还能在一个目的地处理各种需求。超级应用模式在中国非常流行，例如微信，它集 Facebook、WhatsApp、Apple Pay 和应用商店的功能于一身。当然，超级应用模式是否适用于中国以外地区尚存疑问，但这并不意味着 TikTok 不会尝试。TikTok 正在努力成为人们进行大部分数字活动的首选应用，而不是在不同应用之间切换。在通过 TikTok Shop 迈出最大一步后，该公司（值得注意的是，该公司已于 1 月份转为主要由美国所有）已将同样的策略应用于近期的发展中。

Restaurant Guides

Restaurant Guides Image Credits:TikTok TikTok has become a popular destination for restaurant recommendations, with viral videos often driving customers to local eateries. Now, the platform is looking to make that discovery process even easier with a new feature called “Must Eat.” The community-driven guide highlights restaurants getting attention on the platform. “Must Eat” draws on more than 40 million posts and comments to compile restaurant recommendations and curated lists in one place. Users can browse restaurants by city and narrow their search by cuisine, price, rating, and location. The move puts TikTok in more direct competition with platforms like Yelp and Google Maps. It also reflects how the app is expanding its role in users’ everyday decisions, from what they buy to where they choose to go out to eat.

餐厅指南

餐厅指南图片来源：TikTok。TikTok 已成为餐厅推荐的热门目的地，病毒式传播的视频经常引导顾客前往当地餐馆。现在，该平台正试图通过一项名为“Must Eat”的新功能，使这一发现过程变得更加容易。这份由社区驱动的指南重点介绍了在平台上受到关注的餐厅。“Must Eat”利用超过 4000 万条帖子和评论，将餐厅推荐和精选列表汇集在一起。用户可以按城市浏览餐厅，并按菜系、价格、评分和位置缩小搜索范围。此举使 TikTok 与 Yelp 和 Google Maps 等平台形成了更直接的竞争。这也反映了该应用如何在其用户的日常决策中扩大作用，从购买什么到选择去哪里吃饭。

Payments

Payments Image Credits:Just_Super / Getty Images Bloomberg reported in August that TikTok is developing a feature that would allow users to send each other money via direct messages. If rolled out, the feature would use the social media service’s TikTok Pay offering, which is already available in Southeast Asia for TikTok Shop purchases. Additionally, Reuters reported in March that TikTok had applied to Brazil’s central bank for approval to operate as a financial technology company offering lending and payment services. TikTok’s potential expansion into payments marks a significant way that the company is branching out beyond a social media platform and into a digital ecosystem. By aiming to bring financial services into its app, TikTok is looking to increase user engagement, open new revenue streams, and position itself to compete with fintech startups and e-commerce platforms.

支付

支付图片来源：Just_Super / Getty Images。彭博社 8 月报道称，TikTok 正在开发一项功能，允许用户通过私信互相转账。如果推出，该功能将使用该社交媒体服务的 TikTok Pay 产品，该产品已在东南亚用于 TikTok Shop 的购物支付。此外，路透社 3 月报道称，TikTok 已向巴西中央银行申请批准，以金融科技公司的身份运营，提供贷款和支付服务。TikTok 在支付领域的潜在扩张标志着该公司正在超越社交媒体平台，向数字生态系统迈进。通过将金融服务引入其应用，TikTok 希望提高用户参与度，开辟新的收入来源，并使自己能够与金融科技初创公司和电子商务平台竞争。

Sports

Sports Image Credits:TechCrunch/Screenshot Over the years, TikTok has steadily been looking to become a place where users can come for sports highlights and content. In early June, the company launched a dedicated hub for the FIFA World Cup where users can see scores, match schedules, standings, trending videos, highlights, videos from players, and more. If people are already watching videos on TikTok but want to keep up with the score, they can do so without leaving the app or opening a dedicated sports news app or Google. The World Cup hub was made possible through TikTok’s Sports-focused product called “TikTok GamePlan,” which is designed to allow sports teams, leagues, and broadcasters to drive discovery and engagement on the platform. The social media giant also has partnerships with Major League Soccer (MLS) and Major League Baseball (MLB) for behind-the-scenes and exclusive content.

体育

体育图片来源：TechCrunch/截图。多年来，TikTok 一直在稳步寻求成为用户获取体育集锦和内容的地方。6 月初，该公司为国际足联世界杯推出了一个专门的中心，用户可以在其中查看比分、赛程、积分榜、热门视频、集锦、球员视频等。如果人们已经在 TikTok 上观看视频但想了解比分，他们无需离开应用或打开专门的体育新闻应用或谷歌即可实现。世界杯中心是通过 TikTok 名为“TikTok GamePlan”的体育产品实现的，该产品旨在让运动队、联盟和广播公司在平台上推动发现和参与。这家社交媒体巨头还与美国职业足球大联盟 (MLS) 和美国职业棒球大联盟 (MLB) 建立了合作伙伴关系，以提供幕后和独家内容。

Hotel and attraction booking

Hotel and attraction booking Image Credits:TikTok In May, TikTok launched TikTok GO, a way for users to discover and book hotels, attractions, and experiences directly within its app in the United States. TikTok GO surfaces lodging and things to do through videos, search, and location pages. When users find something they’re interested in, they can view details, check availability, and complete a booking. Instead of directing users to third-party websites after they find a destination or recommendation in a video, TikTok has started positioning itself as a one-stop platform where viral travel content can drive bookings and revenue. While people have already been using TikTok as a search engine and replacement for Google, this latest step puts TikTok in more direct competition with Google’s core businesses, Search and Google Maps, because it’s working to not only be the app where you discover places, but also the platform where you purchase that trip.

酒店和景点预订

酒店和景点预订图片来源：TikTok。5 月，TikTok 推出了 TikTok GO，这是一种让美国用户直接在其应用内发现并预订酒店、景点和体验的方式。TikTok GO 通过视频、搜索和位置页面展示住宿和活动。当用户发现感兴趣的内容时，可以查看详细信息、检查可用性并完成预订。TikTok 不再在用户通过视频找到目的地或推荐后将其引导至第三方网站，而是开始将自己定位为一个一站式平台，让病毒式传播的旅游内容能够推动预订和收入。虽然人们已经在使用 TikTok 作为搜索引擎并替代谷歌，但这一最新举措使 TikTok 与谷歌的核心业务（搜索和谷歌地图）形成了更直接的竞争，因为它不仅致力于成为你发现地点的应用，还致力于成为你购买行程的平台。

TikTok Shop

TikTok Shop Image Credits:TikTok It’s widely known that one of TikTok’s biggest leaps beyond social media was the launch of TikTok Shop. TikTok began testing TikTok Shop in 2021 and launched it in the U.S. in 2023. Since then, the company has been able to successfully compete with Amazon, Shein, and other online marketplaces. According to eMarketer, TikTok Shop grew its U.S. sales by 407% in 2024 and another 108% in 2025 to reach $15.82 billion. As of last year, the company accounted for 18.2% of total social commerce in the U.S., with that number expected to reach 24.1% by 2027. Additionally, TikTok began challenging digital marketplaces even further with the launch of TikTok Shop gift cards late last year. TikTok Shop has also recently expanded into luxury retail, after initially mainly being known for cheap goods.

TikTok Shop

TikTok Shop 图片来源：TikTok。众所周知，TikTok 超越社交媒体的最大飞跃之一是 TikTok Shop 的推出。TikTok 于 2021 年开始测试 TikTok Shop，并于 2023 年在美国推出。从那时起，该公司已能够成功地与亚马逊、Shein 和其他在线市场竞争。据 eMarketer 称，TikTok Shop 在 2024 年的美国销售额增长了 407%，2025 年又增长了 108%，达到 158.2 亿美元。截至去年，该公司占美国社交商务总额的 18.2%，预计到 2027 年这一数字将达到 24.1%。此外，TikTok 在去年年底推出了 TikTok Shop 礼品卡，开始进一步挑战数字市场。在最初主要以廉价商品闻名之后，TikTok Shop 最近也扩展到了奢侈品零售领域。

Music

Music Image Credits:TikTok TikTok’s popularity has influenced the music industry and how people discover new music, and the company tried to capitalize on this by launching a streaming service called TikTok Music in 2023 to take on platforms like Spotify and Apple Music, but ended up shutting it down a year later.

音乐

音乐图片来源：TikTok。TikTok 的流行影响了音乐产业以及人们发现新音乐的方式，该公司试图通过在 2023 年推出名为 TikTok Music 的流媒体服务来利用这一点，以挑战 Spotify 和 Apple Music 等平台，但最终在一年后将其关闭。