More brands are now testing TikTok’s shop feature in the US • InNewCL
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TikTok continues its efforts to make its app a shopping destination by onboarding more brands for its Shop initiative, which allows businesses to sell their goods right in the app with a full checkout experience. TikTok began testing Shop in the US last November, and we now know of a few other brands that are part of this initial testing phase.
Companies like clothing brands like Pacsun, Revolve and Willow Boutique, as well as beauty brand KimChi Chic are now part of this shopping experiment, according to a report by Ad Age. Users who wish to purchase these brands’ products can tap the shopping bag icon on the brand’s profile to view their catalogs and complete the checkout process without leaving the TikTok app.
Photo credit: ad age
The company confirmed to InNewCL that TikTok Shop is “still in the testing phase” in the US, as it has been since November, but gave no information on the timeline for a broader launch.
Although users have been able to buy products through ads on TikTok for quite some time, they were previously directed to an in-app browser to make their purchase. With TikTok Shop, the checkout process happens right in the app, making the experience feel more native and seamless. This is also how the Instagram shop works.
Outside the US, TikTok Shop has been available in select markets like Indonesia, Vietnam, and Singapore for almost a year. Previous reports suggested that TikTok dropped plans to bring Shop to the US and more parts of Europe after the company reportedly struggled to gain a foothold in the UK. However, TikTok seems to think there is a market for Shop in the US given these ongoing tests.
Besides the TikTok Shop, the company has also invested in other shopping features. Last March, the app partnered with Instacart to allow food creators to create grocery lists that link to recipe videos. Later in June, it began testing a dedicated shopping feed that served as a hub for products sold on the TikTok Shop, including in select markets. In addition, live shopping has been experimented with in various markets such as the UK and several countries in Southeast Asia.
While TikTok continues to work on shopping features, its competitor apps are scaling back some of their e-commerce efforts. Instagram removed the Shop tab in January and announced this month that it was ending its live shopping efforts. Facebook also retired its live shopping feature in August 2022. Meanwhile, Amazon was experimenting with live shopping in various markets. Also, last May, YouTube launched new live shopping features such as: B. the possibility that two creators can stream together.
However, there is little evidence that these experiments result in e-commerce being pushed to any significant extent in western markets, as is the case in Asia. Reportedly, social commerce accounts for just 5% of e-commerce sales in the US.
That could be due to cultural differences in the way apps are used between markets. But it’s also difficult to track all of the shopping conversions that result from being prompted to buy a product in a social setting. Some of these ecommerce transactions may not take place immediately through the direct links shared by a brand or creator. But the video content or branded ad can serve to drive a sale at a later date, after the consumer has seen more digital ads or found the product themselves through a search on Google or Amazon, or by visiting the retailer’s website.
However, the phrase “TikTok made me buy it” has become popular because of the video app’s ability to encourage impulse sales. In fact, the term now has 7.4 billion views on TikTok and the hashtag has 42.6 billion. In-app shopping features could not only drive more of those sales, but also make them trackable for brands and businesses.
