TikTok's Road to Super App: Restaurant Guide & Payments
TikTok expands into a super app with its new Must Eat restaurant guide backed by 40 million posts, DM money transfers, travel bookings, and surging TikTok Shop sales.
Stock photo for illustration only, not from the actual event
- TikTok is steadily expanding beyond social media to become a comprehensive super app
- The platform launched Must Eat, a restaurant guide drawing from over 40 million posts
- It is developing direct message money transfers and seeking fintech approval in Brazil
- TikTok GO and massive TikTok Shop sales drive its expansion into travel and commerce
TikTok is taking major steps in its evolution from a short-form video platform into a super app designed to handle a wide range of user needs in a single destination. This week, the company announced the addition of an in-app restaurant guide, alongside a feature currently in development that allows users to send money through direct messages.
Over recent years, the social media application has steadily expanded its offerings by introducing TikTok Shop, local discovery maps, enhanced search features, games, and more. Instead of switching between multiple apps, the company aims to become the primary platform people use for the majority of their digital activities.
Stock photo for illustration only, not from the actual event
To make local discovery easier, TikTok introduced a new feature called “Must Eat,” capitalising on its popularity as a destination for restaurant recommendations. The community-driven guide compiles recommendations from more than 40 million posts and comments, allowing users to browse restaurants by city, cuisine, price, rating, and location.
TikTok's push into local dining and travel places it in direct competition with established giants like Yelp and Google Maps. By shifting user behavior from simply discovering places to making actual purchases and bookings within the same ecosystem, TikTok is transforming viral content into direct transactional revenue and cementing its digital infrastructure.
Regarding financial services, Bloomberg reported in August that TikTok is developing a feature allowing users to send money via direct messages, utilizing its TikTok Pay offering already active in Southeast Asia. Additionally, Reuters reported in March that TikTok applied to Brazil's central bank for approval to operate as a fintech company offering lending and payment services.
Beyond food and finance, TikTok launched TikTok GO in May in the United States, enabling users to discover and book hotels and attractions directly within the app. The platform also introduced dedicated sports hubs, such as for the FIFA World Cup, allowing users to track scores without opening external apps.
One of TikTok's largest leaps beyond social media was the launch of TikTok Shop, tested in 2021 and launched in the U.S. in 2023. According to eMarketer, TikTok Shop grew its U.S. sales by 407% in 2024 and another 108% in 2025 to reach $15.82 billion, accounting for 18.2% of total U.S. social commerce last year.
Source: TechCrunch
Found something wrong in this article? Report an issue with this article
Comments
Leave a Comment