Viewpoint - Etopia

Why TikTok could be the new Amazon for toys

Asha Bhalsod has over 10 years of eCommerce account management experience and now runs Etopia Consultancy, helping brands create their eCommerce strategy and grow their Amazon business. She can be contacted on asha@etopiaconsultancy.com

10 years ago, many brands dismissed Amazon. “Our customers don’t buy toys online,” they said. Fast-forward to today and Amazon dominates and outpaces nearly every other retailer of toys. In 2025, we’re seeing a similar pattern playing itself out again, but this time with TikTok. If you’re downplaying the role of TikTok, you may be setting yourself up for the same painful lesson.

In 2015, Amazon was, for most toy brands, a misunderstood channel, often treated like a digital stockroom, not a strategic battleground. There were no Amazon-first teams, no agencies with any real clue, so most brands shrugged and moved on. Then, seemingly overnight, Amazon flipped the script. The winners were the ones who jumped early, learned quickly and owned their category, while the rest of the industry was still debating channel conflict. Here’s a lesson that some toy brands learnt the hard way: ignore the next big thing at your peril.  

Scroll TikTok for five minutes and you’ll see what today’s toy brands are potentially missing. TikTok isn’t just a place where teens dance and pets wear sunglasses. It’s a global megaphone, turning niche toys into must-haves overnight. Rather than relying on TV ads or glossy retail displays to drive buzz, if you want to win the hearts (and wallets) of Gen Alpha and their parents, TikTok is a great place to start. TikTok in 2025 feels exactly like Amazon in 2015: not yet oversaturated, still full of organic opportunities and driven by content that can explode overnight. The algorithm isn’t stitched up by the biggest spenders - yet. Great ideas still go viral because they’re genuinely engaging, not because someone paid six figures in ad spend. Fidget toys are a perfect example. They’d been around for years, but it took one viral TikTok trend – kids and parents popping the silicone bubbles – for the entire category to blow up. The hashtag #popit sailed past 2.5b views. Within weeks, Amazon sellers couldn’t keep them in stock, and a new fidget toy craze was born.  

Here’s the point that so many toy brands might miss: TikTok isn’t another retailer. It’s where culture is set and product hype is born. The magic lies in its ability to create massive, fast-moving trends, without the endless product clutter you see on Amazon’s search pages. If you think this is just a toy thing, take the Stanley Quencher Tumbler, a stainless-steel water bottle that’s become a popular fashion accessory, all thanks to TikTok. Clips of fans unboxing or personalising their tumblers sent sales soaring; retailers had waiting lists. Stanley didn’t plan for TikTok to take off, it happened because real people made it happen, and brands caught flat-footed were left scrambling to catch up. 

So why do so many toy brands hesitate? Because the playbook isn’t written. TikTok can feel wild, weird and a bit out of control, but here’s the truth: the brands who waited for a perfect Amazon playbook in 2015 are still playing catch-up. If you’re waiting for a social commerce handbook from HQ, you’ll be watching your competitors sprint ahead.  

Here’s what doesn’t work: 

• Giving TikTok to the intern as a side project. 

• Posting TV ads or catalogue shots and expecting virality. 

• Waiting for a competitor’s success before you try anything new. 

Instead, here’s how to get ahead on TikTok - without burning your budget:  

• Lean in early: If you’re reading this and thinking: “Maybe next year” - don’t. The clock is ticking and TikTok’s window for easy organic wins won’t last forever. Start experimenting now, while the cost of entry is low and the algorithm is still friendly. 

• Ditch the corporate playbook: TikTok is allergic to salesy, polished brand videos. The best content is creative, playful and made for the feed, not the boardroom. Let your brand’s personality show, be willing to look silly, be bold and embrace user-generated content.  

• Find and fuel micro-trends: Monitor what’s trending in your category. Is there a sound or meme format that fits your toy? Jump in, fast. The speed of TikTok culture is brutal. Blink and you’ll miss the moment.  

• Partner with real creators: Not every influencer needs a blue tick. Look for creators who genuinely love toys and engage with families. Their audiences are your future customers.  

• Connect TikTok directly to Amazon: Make it seamless for parents to buy once their kids are obsessed. Optimise your Amazon listings for search terms trending on TikTok. Build out your storefront with the content and language customers are seeing on social.  

Amazon isn’t going away. If anything, it’s cementing its place as the world’s toy checkout counter. But the battle for attention, the real discovery moment, is moving upstream to TikTok.  

So, what’s changing for Amazon sellers? There’s more noise, and with thousands of new toy brands launching every year, standing out is harder than ever. The algorithmic advantage is shrinking; as Amazon’s marketplace matures, the cost to compete grows. TikTok offers a new way in, if you act now. And social proof matters. Toys that trend on TikTok shoot up Amazon’s rankings. Social buzz and sales velocity now go hand in hand.  

If Amazon taught us anything, it’s this: the early movers win and the followers pay a premium, forever. TikTok is the new frontier for toy brands; it’s where kids fall in love with products and parents make the purchase. Wait around, and you’ll be buried by those who didn’t. Social commerce isn’t coming. It’s here. Get ahead of the curve, test boldly and make TikTok the new engine behind your Amazon success. Because in 2035, nobody wants to be the brand that said: “We thought TikTok was just for dances.”