TikTok’s Latest Growth Hack: Buying New Users With Discounts

TikTok is testing a truism: Money talks.

TikTok users in the U.S. who invite their friends to the app can now get steep discounts on goods, such as digital cameras and hair styling tools marked down to just a penny, as part of a promotion the ByteDance-owned company introduced in recent weeks.

That builds on a referral scheme TikTok has been quietly running in other countries, such as Japan and Thailand, which offers users coupons as well as cash rewards for inviting friends to the app. Its introduction in the U.S. comes as TikTok faces a potential ban early next year as a result of a new law aimed at forcing the app to sever ties with its Chinese parent.