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You’ve got a product ready to launch and you’re staring at three massive platforms wondering where to start. This is a decision that has the potential to make or break your first year in e-commerce.

Most sellers pick a platform based on hype or where their friend found success. That’s backwards. Your product should tell you where to sell, not the latest trending platform or success story you heard at a conference.

The costs are real and they’re climbing fast. Amazon’s advertising now averages $0.98 per click, Walmart’s at $0.67, and TikTok’s growing 12.28% year-over-year to $2.62 CPM. Pick wrong and you’ll burn through your budget before you figure out what went sideways.

What Each Platform Does Really Well

Let’s look at what each platform is actually built for.

Amazon is a search engine that happens to sell stuff. Over 310 million people come here knowing what they want. They type “wireless earbuds” and expect to find exactly that. It’s keyword-driven, competition is fierce, and the algorithm recently started favoring sellers who bring their own traffic instead of just paying for ads.

Walmart is growing fast with 75% less competition than Amazon in most categories. The customers here care about value—they want quality products at fair prices from brands they can trust. It’s still search-based like Amazon, but the audience is different and the competition is lighter.

TikTok Shop runs on impulse and discovery. People don’t come here to shop—they come to be entertained. But when something catches their eye in a video, they buy it instantly. It’s all about viral moments and content that makes people stop scrolling.

Your Product Tells You Where to Start

Forget what’s trending. Look at what you’re selling and how people normally discover products like yours.

Products People Search For

Office chairs, phone chargers, kitchen gadgets, fitness equipment—basically anything someone types into a search bar when they have a specific problem to solve.

Where to sell: Amazon or Walmart, hands down.

These platforms exist because people show up looking for solutions. Your job is to be there when they search. That means:

• Your title needs the exact words people type
• Your price needs to be competitive (people sort by price)
• You need reviews fast (the first 15-50 reviews are crucial)
• Shipping needs to be quick (same-day or next-day is expected now)

Reality check: Amazon requires about $5,000 monthly just for advertising to stay competitive. Walmart costs about 30% less for similar reach. Both need significant upfront investment—figure $25,000-$50,000 in working capital for a serious launch.

Products People Discover by Accident

LED strip lights that change colors, weird beauty tools that go viral, home decor that looks cool in videos—stuff that makes people think “I didn’t know I needed this, but I do.”

Where to sell: TikTok Shop.

Your product needs to work well in short videos. It should be under $50 (impulse purchase territory) and either solve a problem in a surprising way or just look really cool. Success here depends on:

• Making content that doesn’t feel like an ad
• Jumping on trends quickly
• Getting real people to use and share your product
• Understanding that viral moments are unpredictable

The catch: You need $500 minimum for campaigns with $50 daily spending, and tracking real ROI is tricky because of how TikTok measures conversions.

Products That Need Trust to Sell

Skincare, supplements, expensive tools, anything where the brand reputation matters as much as the product itself.

Where to sell: Amazon or Walmart work well because customers already trust these platforms.

Walmart is particularly good here because their customers value reliability over flashy marketing. You need:

• Professional photos and detailed descriptions
• Clear brand story explaining why you’re different
• Consistent quality (one bad review can kill months of progress)
• Patience to build reputation over time

Match Your Goals to What Each Platform Does

Want to Test Your Idea Fast?

Go with TikTok Shop.

You can launch quickly, get immediate feedback, and potentially see viral growth within weeks. But that growth is unpredictable and hard to sustain without constant content creation.

Want to Build Something That Lasts?

Start with Amazon or Walmart.

These platforms reward consistency over viral moments. Growth is slower but more predictable. You’re building a real business with systems that can scale, not just chasing viral hits.

How to Choose a Platform

Ask yourself these questions:

1. How do people usually find products like mine? Do they search for them or stumble across them?
   
2. What can I realistically spend on advertising? The minimums are real and they vary a lot between platforms.
   
3. Can I make good videos? TikTok lives or dies on content quality.
   
4. How much money can I tie up in inventory? Each platform has different requirements.
   
5. Do I need fast validation or steady growth? There’s a real trade-off here.
   

The Multi-Platform Reality

Here’s what most guides won’t tell you: successful businesses don’t stay on one platform forever. But trying to be everywhere at once is how you fail everywhere.

The smart approach:

1. Pick one platform where you can actually win
2. Get profitable and figure out your operations
3. Expand to other platforms using what you learned

Example: Launch a trendy product on TikTok to test demand and build buzz. Once you know it sells and you’ve got your supply chain figured out, move it to Amazon and Walmart for steady, predictable growth.

Making the Call

There’s no magic answer that works for everyone. Success comes from matching what you’re selling to how that platform actually works.

Selling practical stuff people search for? Start with Amazon or Walmart. Focus on getting found in searches, competitive pricing, and building reviews.

Selling cool stuff that looks good in videos? Try TikTok Shop first. Invest in content creation and trend monitoring.

Building a brand that needs trust? Consider Walmart for loyal, value-conscious customers, or Amazon for maximum reach.

Remember: your first platform isn’t permanent. Pick where you can win first, execute well, then expand systematically. That’s how you build a real e-commerce business instead of just chasing the latest platform hype.

The key is starting somewhere you can actually succeed, not where you think you should be.

Ready to Skip the Learning Curve?

If you’re reading this and thinking “I don’t have 6 months to figure out which platform works,” you’re not alone. Most successful sellers eventually realize that managing e-commerce platforms is a full-time job—and they’d rather focus on their product and business growth.

That’s where we come in. 

At Canopy Management, we’ve helped over 1,000 brands navigate exactly this decision, managing over $3.3 billion in revenue across Amazon, Walmart, and TikTok Shop. Our team of former Amazonians and platform specialists has seen every type of product launch, and we know which strategies actually work in 2025.

Instead of burning months and budget learning through trial and error, our partners get immediate access to:

• Platform-specific launch strategies based on your exact product type and goals
• Professional listing optimization that gets you found and converts browsers into buyers
• Advanced advertising management that delivers an average 84% year-over-year profit growth
• Multi-platform expansion plans that scale your success systematically

We don’t just manage your listings—we become an extension of your team, bringing human expertise enhanced by AI tools to every aspect of your marketplace presence.

Ready to grow your e-commerce business? 

Let’s talk about your specific situation and build a custom strategy that actually works for your product and goals. Book a free consultation or call us directly to discuss your platform strategy.

Canopy Management is a full-service marketing agency for Amazon, Walmart, and TikTok sellers. Our team consists of multi-million dollar, omni-channel entrepreneurs, industry leaders, and award-winning experts.