This is the latest installment of the Brands Briefing, a weekly Modern Retail+ column about the growth strategies of modern brands. More from the series →
Help wanted: A savvy social-media expert who can help companies master TikTok Shop.
More U.S. brands are posting job openings like this, as social commerce continues its hot streak. Mammoth Brands, the parent company of razor brand Harry’s, is actively recruiting for a head of TikTok Shop who can “set the vision, strategy and multi-brand roadmap for TikTok Shop.” Stila Cosmetics is seeking a manager of TikTok Shop marketing to help with its livestream efforts, in particular. And accessories brand BaubleBar is looking for a TikTok Shop manager to oversee everything from creator partnerships to promotional campaigns.
These jobs are becoming crucial to brands’ growth as more consumers, especially younger ones, flock to TikTok Shop to buy everything from jeans to food. TikTok Shop is still in its infancy in the U.S. — it launched three years ago as of this September — but the channel is already proving lucrative. Per Consumer Edge, TikTok Shop accounted for 2% of U.S. online retail spending in July, up from 1.2% a year earlier. Sales from major brands on TikTok Shop nearly doubled in 2025, with sales from U.S. small businesses up 66%.
Over the last few years, many brands have tasked their social media or marketing teams with overseeing TikTok and TikTok Shop strategy, along with other channels like Instagram or Snapchat. Other brands have outsourced work to TikTok Shop agencies, which have their own rosters of talent. But now, more brands are creating dedicated in-house roles to oversee nothing but TikTok Shop. It’s their hope that doing so can kickstart sales, increase customer acquisition and drive brand consideration.
Stila Cosmetics is one such brand. The company joined TikTok Shop U.S. in March 2024 after its chief marketing officer, Mary Rodrigues, saw the channel take off in China. Today, Stila treats the platform as both an awareness vehicle and a revenue driver. Per TikTok data, Stila has sold more than 100,000 units on TikTok Shop, with bestsellers including the Liqua-Play Eye Shadow. Bundles are especially popular, and Stila sees a halo effect from TikTok on its other channels, including its retail stores, website and Amazon.
Now, Stila is looking for someone to step up its TikTok Shop livestream strategy, which Rodrigues said is still in the “baby stages.” The brand currently taps staffers and creators to host lives, but it wants a dedicated TikTok Shop expert on the payroll. “We’re hoping for someone who fully understands the platform and how important this piece of the ecosystem is, so that they can build out what a proper [roadmap] looks like, and what the proper cadence [for videos] is,” said Melissa Rogers, Stila’s vp of digital and brand marketing.
“How long should we be live? When we do pull staff in? … What products are we focusing on?” she asked. “We need someone who is creative and understands what users want to see, … but also has the commercial thinking behind how we want to make decisions around our content.”
Stila works with a TikTok affiliate agency, but it will keep this new role in-house because it built a livestream studio in its corporate office. That allows the brand to be nimble and jump on what’s selling the best at any given moment. “I can pop in [or] somebody else can pop in, and it’s super organic,” Rodrigues said.
Jool Baby, which sells baby products including changing pads, is looking for an “e-commerce marketplace manager” who can oversee TikTok Shop and social commerce. Among other responsibilities, this person will communicate with agency partners, analyze performance data, improve forecasting and coordinate with inventory teams. TikTok Shop experience is “a plus, but not required,” per the job posting.
Jool Baby joined TikTok Shop U.S. in 2024 and says it’s one of the leading baby brands on the platform, with some 97,000 units sold to date. Jool Baby works with a TikTok Shop agency, and for six months, one of its top affiliates helped steer its TikTok Shop strategy. But Jool Baby doesn’t have anyone overseeing the business in-house — a role it’s eager to fill, as it’s now tracing about 5% of sales to the channel.
Jool Baby is looking for someone who understands the nuances of TikTok Shop, said Judah Bergman, the founder and president of Jool Baby. “TikTok Shop changes very rapidly — they keep changing the fees, and they change the opportunities,” he said. “You need somebody that’s going to be on top of the developments, but also own the P&L. … There’s so much with TikTok Shop. [There’s] the combination of the social media plus the shop plus the affiliates — you need someone good, in order to manage it.”
Bergman, however, is running into some challenges with hiring for this role. As TikTok Shop is still so new, most people with experience typically work at agencies, rather than brands, Bergman explained. And these agencies are hard to compete with — they typically offer large commissions and partner with TikTok on programs and tools.
“TikTok works very closely with the agencies — so there’s a lot of gatekeeping within that,” Bergman said. “There’s no [large] pool of TikTok Shop managers that you can hire from,” he added. “I’ve been having a hard time finding the right person.”
Stila is also waiting for the right candidate to come along. Right now, it’s getting applications from people who are either strong in content creation or are strong in driving retail sales and AOV. What it really needs, though, is a hybrid of the two: a person who is comfortable on camera, but also knows which products or trends to play up.
“I think that’s the sweet spot, not only for the role, but also for the channel itself,” Rogers said.
What we’re reading
- Taylor Farms, fresh off a lettuce scare, is recalling jalapeños over salmonella concerns. (The New York Times)
- Levi’s, Uniqlo and Primark are urging shoppers to repair their own clothes. (The Associated Press)
- Spirit Halloween’s parent company is acquiring Hot Topic. (Retail Dive)
What we’ve covered
- Consumers are criticizing Tarte Cosmetics over how it’s marketing its new Snatch Stick.
- Russian missile strikes are destroying warehouses of Ukrainian brands like Cili Nochi.
- Once Upon a Farm is switching up the baby aisle with branded coolers.
