TikTok vs. Instagram – Social Commerce ROI

For years, Instagram was the home of influencer shopping. But in 2025, TikTok has become the home of conversion.

Both platforms now blend entertainment and commerce — yet the way they generate sales value (and ROI) couldn’t be more different.
At Somerce, we’ve managed campaigns for beauty, wellness, and lifestyle brands across both ecosystems, and the numbers tell a clear story.

This deep dive compares TikTok and Instagram on five ROI drivers: attention, authenticity, algorithm, ad efficiency, and conversion infrastructure.

1. Attention: The Power of Time Spent

TikTok users spend an average of 62 minutes per day on the app versus 33 minutes on Instagram (Data.ai, 2025).
More importantly, TikTok’s For You Page is designed for discovery — not social circles — meaning every video competes on merit, not follower count.

Somerce insight

On TikTok, even new brands can reach six-figure audiences with strong creative.
On Instagram, reach is pay-to-play — engagement is throttled by follower networks.

Result:

• TikTok top-of-funnel CPMs average 25–35% cheaper
• Average view time per ad: 1.8× higher

TikTok wins on attention density — the raw material of ROI.

2. Authenticity: Creator Commerce vs. Influencer Marketing

Instagram’s aesthetic is curated; TikTok’s is conversational.
That single difference shifts user psychology from “aspire” to “trust.”

TikTok’s creator-commerce model lets anyone earn via affiliate tagging, driving a new kind of peer-to-peer influence.
Instagram’s influencer economy still revolves around pre-approved, polished partnerships — which perform worse with Gen Z audiences.

Somerce insight: Creator affiliate posts on TikTok deliver 2× more revenue per pound spent than static Instagram collabs.

3. Algorithm and Discovery

TikTok’s recommendation engine surfaces content performance, not profile status.
This makes it ideal for product storytelling and trend-driven discovery.

Instagram, by contrast, rewards engagement history within a smaller network — limiting exposure for new sellers.

Example:
When Somerce launched Glow For It on TikTok Shop, 80% of first-month sales came from non-followers who discovered the brand organically.
The same product line on Instagram Ads produced 30% fewer new-customer conversions.

Verdict: TikTok’s open discovery ecosystem compounds faster ROI for early-stage brands.

4. Paid Ad Efficiency

TikTok’s ad inventory still offers underpriced reach compared to Meta’s matured CPM landscape.

Spark Ads — which amplify organic or creator posts — outperform static Instagram Reels ads by 40 % in CTR because engagement data carries over.

Somerce takeaway:
TikTok = creative testing lab; Instagram = remarketing tool.
Together they form an ideal multi-touch funnel, but ROI starts on TikTok.

5. Conversion Infrastructure: TikTok Shop vs. Instagram Checkout

The biggest ROI gap lies in checkout integration.

• TikTok Shop: native in-feed purchasing, affiliate tracking, and Fulfilled by TikTok (FBT) logistics.
• Instagram Checkout: limited brand eligibility, higher fees, and user drop-off when redirected to external sites.

Somerce data:
Brands using TikTok Shop achieve 5–8 % higher conversion and 22 % lower abandoned-cart rate than comparable Instagram store links.

TikTok’s ecosystem closes the loop — from discovery to purchase — without friction.

6. Case Study Comparison

7. ROI Summary

Overall ROI Index (Somerce 2025 benchmark):

• TikTok: 4.5× average ROAS
• Instagram: 2.8× average ROAS

TikTok currently delivers ~60 % higher ROI for direct-to-consumer brands in beauty, wellness, and lifestyle verticals.

8. Strategic Recommendation

✅ Start with TikTok for acquisition — build awareness and creator-driven traffic.
✅ Use Instagram for retention — remarket to warm audiences via Reels and Stories.
✅ Integrate TikTok Shop + FBT to close the conversion gap.
✅ Analyse cross-channel attribution through post-purchase surveys and first-party data.

“Instagram built aspiration. TikTok builds action.”
— Joe Yates, CEO, Somerce

For 2025, ROI belongs to the platform that fuses culture, creators, and commerce — and right now, that’s TikTok.

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