Buffalo, NY (WBEN) As we await a ruling on whether a ban on Tik Tok will take place, one area retailer is preparing to deal with one less way to advertise his goods.
Tyler Stevenson and his wife own Hello Sweets on Main Street in Tonawanda, and are among many small business owners who use Tik Tok to advertise. "We advertise in other ways, but Tik Tok is our preferred method of advertising," says Stevenson. "it's also our most popular. We have the most followers on there, we get the most engagement on there, we get the most traffic directed to our website from people that have seen us on Tik Tok."
Stevenson says he uses other apps as well to advertise, including Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and other lesser known apps. He says he's preparing for a ban, one that's not popular with him. "If we're being honest, there doesn't seem to be much interest from anybody in not banning the app," says Stevenson. "It kind of seems like the ban was put into place without considering the economic ramifications for millions of small businesses that rely on the app, and that it was kind of done with very little foresight at all as to the billions of dollars a band would take directly out of the United States economy. But you know, what do I know? I'm not a senator."
Stevenson says it's really hard to say what economic ramifications a ban would mean to his business. While he does a lot of sales online, he also has a storefront. "We were doing the store for years before we even got on Tik Tok. I imagine that there will be an impact, and that online sales will decrease. But like I said, we don't sell directly through Tik Tok, and people find us other ways as well," says Stevenson. He says he's hoping for the best, but is preparing for a lean few months if the ban happens.
A ban could take effect next week.
