Most brands think they understand TikTok Shop—but the landscape is shifting fast, and 2026 is going to look very different from anything we've seen so far.

In this breakdown, Ashley Wright (Founder of Social Tale, generating over $80M in TikTok Shop GMV across the US, UK and Europe) shares his top 2026 TikTok Shop trends and predictions, including:

• Why smarter brands will shift from mass sampling to strategic creator investment
• How brands will build in-house content engines and use brand-owned pages to drive predictable GMV
• Why subscriptions on TikTok Shop will become a major growth lever
• How high-ticket products will gain momentum with affiliates who want bigger payouts
• Why creator communities will become the #1 retention and performance advantage
• How global market expansion (US → UK/EU/Mexico) will accelerate growth opportunities
• Why major enterprise brands like Disney, Samsung and Ralph Lauren entering TikTok Shop will raise the competitive bar

If you're a founder, ecommerce operator, or marketer preparing for 2026—and you want to stay ahead of the curve—this is required viewing.

In this episode, Ashley sits down with Jay Hunter, Chief Revenue Officer at MaryRuth Organics, to unpack how they scaled TikTok Shop from zero to over $4.5 million/month and why June, the slowest month for vitamins, still crushed.

Jay shares the full playbook:
→ How they scaled from 50 samples a week to 10,000+ per month
→ Why TikTok Live is their secret weapon (now running 24/7)
→ Profitability rules and real numbers (contribution margins, ROAS, sample ROI)
→ Building and managing a high-output creator community on Discord
→ The real halo effect between TikTok and Amazon/retail

Whether you're running a DTC brand or just getting started on TikTok Shop, this episode breaks down what’s actually working in 2025.

🔥 Don’t forget to subscribe for more no-fluff social commerce insights.

—

📲 Follow Ashley: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ashleywright1/
📩 Work with us: https://socialtale.co

#TikTokShop #DTC #SocialCommerce #Ecommerce #AshleyWright #MaryRuth

TikTok Shop just rolled out Flat Fee Collaborations BETA and it's a huge shift for how brands engage creators. In this episode, Ashley unpacks what this new hybrid model really means: upfront payments, automated ad authorization, and full control over content timelines.

This isn’t just a new feature. It’s TikTok quietly killing off the “spray-and-pray” commission-only approach. If you’re serious about scaling high-quality creator content, you need to understand how this changes the rules.

We cover:

• Why flat fees + commission might become the new standard
• How to use editing rounds and scheduling to own your campaign timing
• Why this gives agencies and brands more leverage than ever

Less guessing, more control. Let's break it down.