Fueled by a robust creator program and subsidized incentives to entice brands and consumers onto the app, TikTok Shop was ranked the 9th largest online beauty and wellness retailer in the U.S. in February, up from the 22nd spot in August last year. Health and beauty sales on it totaled just under $400 million for the six-month period ending in late January, according to consumer insights firm NIQ. Apparel and accessories and home and kitchen were the second and third top-selling categories, respectively.

Drawn in by increasing demand, sellers are flocking to TikTok Shop in huge numbers with established brands like Rare Beauty, Rhode, Huda Beauty, Youth To The People, Elf and NYX setting up storefronts on the app. According to the publication Bloomberg, TikTok Shop more than doubled its merchant count at the end of last year, registering over 500,000 sellers and brands. Approximately 170 million people in the U.S. use TikTok.

Beauty brands’ growing investments into TikTok Shop aren’t slowing even as the app faces renewed scrutiny from U.S lawmakers. According to a law signed by President Joe Biden last April, ByteDance, TikTok’s Chinese parent company, must sell the company to an American buyer within nine months. If it fails to do so, TikTok will disappear from Apple’s and Google’s online stores in the U.S. The app was previously targeted for sale in 2020.

As TikTok enlarges its position in beauty retail, and its fate in the U.S. remains shaky, we were curious how the beauty industry envisioned its future. For this edition of Beauty Independent’s ongoing series posing questions relevant to emerging beauty, we asked 11 brand founders and consultants the following questions: Do you think the TikTok Shop craze will last with beauty brands and consumers? Are you bullish on the future of TikTok Shop as a force for beauty retailing? Where do you see it a year from now?