Price Cut

What is Price Cut

Note: This feature is currently available to selected sellers only. All sellers & users must ensure the TikTok App is updated to version 47.0 by downloading from the App store (iOS) or Play store in order to use/participate in Price Cut.Eligibility CriteriaSellers with official or marketing accounts are able to use Price Cut, upon meeting these criteria:

• Probation Sellers: Out of probation
• Account Health Rating (AHR) ≥ 100
• No severe violations (including but not limited to product listing violations and IPR policies violations)
• Overall Store Rating Score (SES): SES ≥3.0 (or No Store Rating)
• SFCR ≤ 2%
• CHR >150

What does the overall Price Cut process look like?

1. Set up products: Add products from your shop, set the lowest price, target participants, price cut quantity (total stock), and duration.
2. Warm up the audience: Pin Price Cut product to your LIVE before starting the activity to explain how Price Cut works.
3. Start the Price Cut: Once the audience shows interest, tap "Start" to begin the activity.
4. Celebrate the participants: When the activity ends, celebrate those who helped cut the price!
5. Start the next round: The stock will be reset to the Price Cut quantity you set for each round and you can quickly restart based on the previous setup.

How to Create a Price Cut

Sellers can set up Price Cut via LIVE Manager PC or TikTok App, before or during LIVE.
Step 1: Access Price Cut via LIVE Console or within the LIVE Shopping Bag on your TikTok App.Step 2: Select the ProductsSelect from the eligible products displayed to add it to your shopping bag.
*Eligible products = Single products or multi-SKU products with the same price across all SKUs.Tip: Select products with sufficient inventory and promotional price flexibility, or products that you'd like to run clearance sales for. Step 3: Configure the Activity

• Lowest price: This is the price that will be offered to viewers if the Price Cut achieves the target number of participants.
  • If the number of target participants isn't reached, participating viewers will pay the final achieved price at the end of the activity.
• Target participants: This is the number of viewers required to join Price Cut, in order to reach the lowest price.
• Price cut quantity: This is the available inventory for sale during the activity.
  • It must be equal to or greater than the number of target participants, so that everyone who joins has an opportunity to buy the product.
  • If your shop's stock is less than the Price Cut quantity, you will not be able to start the activity.
• Duration: This is the time allocated for viewers to join the activity (select from 15 seconds to 20 minutes, with default recommendation being 5 minutes)

Tips:

1. Start with a lower number of target participants for small or newer LIVE events so that the lowest price can be reached. Increase the number when traffic is stable and encourage people to invite others.
2. For quick sales and an easy success rate, set the duration to 5 minutes.
3. To get more sales, the average Price Cut duration is 8 minutes—this is recommended for most campaigns.
4. To give viewers more time to join the Price Cut, set the duration to 10 minutes or longer.
5. For quicker setup, use bulk edit price cut target, bulk edit quantities and bulk edit participants to create multiple price cut activities at a go.

Step 4: Publish Activity and Start preheatingOnce created, the product enters the upcoming (preheat) state. Before starting, pin the Price Cut product to build awareness and purchase intent.

• IMPORTANT: Once a Price Cut activity has been created for a product, this product will remain within the Price Cut activity and viewers cannot purchase it at a regular price.
• If sellers wish to revert the product back to regular product sales, sellers simply need to delete the Price Cut activity once it has ended. See below on Managing Price Cut Activities on how to edit or delete Price Cut activity.

Step 5: Start the ActivityDuring LIVE, monitor the countdown timer, current price, and how many viewers have joined. After it has ended, simply click Restart to start your next Price Cut.

• IMPORTANT: If the available inventory has run out, the Price Cut activity will automatically end.

Managing Price Cut ActivitiesSellers can edit or delete Price Cut activities before or after the Price Cut has ended.

How Can Viewers Join Price Cut

Once a seller has started a Price Cut, viewers can join through these pathways:
Before joining Price Cut, viewers must complete 3 actions:

1. Choose an SKU (only applicable if the Price Cut activity has multiple SKUs of the same price)
2. Agree to the Buyer Policy
3. Set up shipping address & payment method

During a Price Cut , each participant can cut the price one time only. The amount cut each time is automatically determined by the platform.
Once a viewer has cut the price, they simply need to wait for the Price Cut activity to end. There are 2 possible outcomes once the activity ends:

• Lowest price:
  • If enough people join to reach the target amount of participants, the lowest price is unlocked and everyone who joined will then buy the product at this price.
  • If the lowest price is unlocked and inventory remains, other viewers can also join and an order will be automatically created for them based on the lowest price once the activity ends. The price will never go below the lowest price you set — even if participants exceed the target participant count.
• Ending price: If not enough people join to reach the target amount of participants, those who joined will buy the product at the final price when the Price Cut ends, which will be higher than the lowest price set by sellers.

Example scenario:
Viewers who have linked their payment method will automatically get charged as per the final price. If viewers had selected PayLater as their payment method, they are given 10 minutes to complete their payment before the order is cancelled.

Price Cut Strategies

Before LIVE | Select the Right Products & Create Conversion Opportunities

During LIVE | Warm Up First, Then Launch & Optimize

After LIVE | Review Performance & Find the Best Setup

Benefits for Sellers

1. Creates stronger LIVE engagement
   • Price drops in real time, so viewers have a reason to stay, watch the remaining time, and participate.
   • The host gets a natural talking point: “Join now to help unlock the lower price.”
2. Encourages viewers to invite others
   • Since more participants lower the price, sellers can use the mechanic to drive sharing and social participation.
   • This is especially useful for warming up low-traffic or newer LIVE sessions.
3. Improves conversion through active participation
   • The remaining time, visible progress, and final-price reveal make the promotion feel like an event rather than a static discount.
   • Participating viewers are automatically charged at the final ending price, which reduces friction after they join.
4. Helps clear inventory without permanently lowering product price
   • Sellers can use Price Cut for slow-moving or clearance stock.
   • The discount only applies during the Price Cut activity; after deleting/ending the activity, normal-price selling can resume.
5. Can generate two rounds of orders
   • If the lowest price is unlocked and inventory remains, non-participating viewers can also join and buy at the lowest price before the activity ends.
   • So sellers can convert both early participants and later viewers.
6. Gives sellers control over promotion risk
   • Sellers set the lowest price, target participant count, activity quantity, and duration.
   • The price never goes below the seller’s configured lowest price, even if participants exceed the target.
7. Works well during campaign or peak traffic moments
   • During mega-campaigns, payday sales, or high-traffic LIVE sessions, sellers can set higher participant targets and enough quantity to turn traffic into more orders.

FAQs

1. What is Price Cut?

Price Cut is an interactive price-drop activity that lets shoppers work together to lower a product's price during LIVE. Sellers set the lowest price, target participant count, price cut quantity and duration.

2. How does the price go down?

Before the target participant count is reached, each viewer who joins the Price Cut lowers the current price once. Price cuts are larger earlier in the activity and become smaller as it approaches the lowest price.

3. What price will participating viewers pay?

Participating viewers pay the final price reached when the activity ends. The activity does not need to reach the lowest price for participating viewers to complete their purchase.

4. What happens if the lowest price is reached before the countdown timer ends?

If the lowest price is reached and inventory remains, participating viewers purchase at the lowest price and other viewers in the LIVE can also join and automatically buy at the lowest price until the activity ends or inventory runs out. However, if the lowest price has not been unlocked, non‑participants cannot purchase the product at the final price.

5. When are viewers charged?

If participating viewers have added a payment card during the payment method setup, they will be charged automatically at the final achieved price when the activity ends. If viewers had selected PayLater as their payment method, they will be required to complete their payment within 10 minutes to ensure a successful order.

6. How many target participants should I set?

Start with a lower number of target participants for small or newer LIVE events so that the lowest price can be reached. Increase the number when traffic is stable and encourage people to invite others.

7. What if the target participant count is not met?

Participating viewers will continue to purchase at the final price and other viewers in the LIVE can also join and automatically buy at the final price until the activity ends or inventory runs out. To ensure target participants are met, sellers can consider lowering the target number of participants or lowest price and restart the next round.

8. How long can a Price Cut activity run?

Sellers can set the Price Cut duration from 15 seconds to 20 minutes.

9. Can I change the Price Cut settings once it has begun?

No, but you can edit the settings after the activity ends. New settings will take effect in the next Price Cut round.

10. Can I use Price Cut at the same time as LIVE Flash Sale or Group Deal?

No. Price Cut cannot be active at the same time as LIVE Flash Sale or LIVE Group Deal. Only 1 activity type can be run at one time, with Price Cut or Group Deal taking priority before LIVE Flash Sale.

11. Can I end the Price Cut after it has begun?

No. Once viewers have participated, the activity cannot be ended early. If no one has participated, you can end it.

12. Can I use coupons or other subsidies with Price Cut?

Price Cut can stack with seller promotions (i.e. seller coupon, buy more save more, gift with purchase), platform coupon subsidies and platform product subsidies. While, the price priority sequence displayed to customers is as follows: Group Deal/Price Cut > LIVE Flash Sale > Campaign price > Seller Flash Sale > Product Discount > Original Price.

13. When is inventory locked?

Inventory is not locked when the seller configures the activity. It is validated and locked when the Price Cut activity starts. After the activity ends, the stock is released after 10 minutes.

• The quantity entered at the SPU level is evenly locked across each SKU.
  1. If all SKU stocks are greater than or equal to the required stock: each SKU is locked with an equal amount of activity stock.
  2. If some SKU stocks do not meet the required stock: lock all available stock for those SKUs.

14. In what scenarios will Price Cut be unable to start?

Price Cut will fail to start if there is insufficient inventory.

15. Why is Price Cut different from Flash Sale?

Flash Sale exposes a fixed lower price immediately. Price Cut turns price reduction into visible progress: each participation can lower the price, creating an interactive event around the promotion.

16. Why is Price Cut different from Group Deal?

Group Deal unlocks a fixed group price only when a small group fills. Price Cut progressively lowers the price as viewers participate, and participating viewers transact at the final achieved price even if the lowest price is not reached.

17. If I restart Price Cut for the same SKU, can the same viewers who joined the previous Price Cut activity join again and make another purchase?

Yes, viewers can join again and make another purchase in each new Price Cut activity.

18. Can I cancel my order after it has been placed?

Yes, you may submit a cancellation request as long as the order has not been handed over to the courier service. Once the parcel is shipped or in transit, cancellations are no longer permitted.

19. Can I raise a Return/Refund request?

Yes, you may submit a aftersales request based on the following windows:

• Non-Mall Products: 6 to 15 calendar days from order delivery.
• Mall Products: 15 to 30 calendar days from order delivery.

For more information on return policy, click here.