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TikTok Shop has arrived in the US. By October, every one of TikTok’s 150 million American users will have access to the Shop feature, which includes a Shop tab, For You feed recommendations and an affiliate programme for creators.
It’s a massive and high-stakes investment for TikTok, owned by China’s Bytedance, which has already rolled out the feature to 40 per cent of US users. Incorporating commerce into beloved social media apps is a difficult tightrope walk, and pushing too hard can turn users off. Already, users are complaining that their curated For You feeds are being swamped by fast fashion brands, counterfeits and arbitrary household items.
The hope is that, given time, the ultra-personalised algorithm that marketers know and love will kick in for Shop posts as well.
“As users began to experiment with the TikTok Shop, it’s clear that it’s very much still finding its feet, especially with the initial curation of products and brands,” says Joe McDonnell, director of insight at trend forecasting agency WGSN. But its algorithm should be effective at surfacing new products that are relevant to Gen Z consumers, he says. “This is like gold dust to brands.”
New womenswear brand Viavia (which launched in 2022 with an $8 million seed round and doubles as a multi-brand e-commerce site) is upbeat about the potential, partnering with creators to reach its “Zillenial” target demographic, co-founder and CEO Sixuan Li says.
While social commerce is well-established in Asia-Pacific region markets such as China, it’s still struggling to make an impact in the West. Meta has long tried to make it work on Instagram, but in January removed the shopping tab from the Instagram homepage, which suggested a scaling back of the platform’s commerce strategy.
Shop is a natural extension for TikTok, experts say, highlighting how many viral videos and trends have already turned conversation into sales. Garrott Smith, SVP of digital and social at consultancy Edelman, highlights three factors that prime the platform for social shopping success. Firstly, it’s a leader in social search (meaning users are already product researching on TikTok, so the addition of Shop makes it easy for them to complete that journey). Secondly, TikTok posts typically ignite dialogue — and people trust each other’s reviews over top-down messaging. Thirdly, it’s launching with learnings from elsewhere (Shop has been active in Southeast Asia since 2022) as well as competitors such as Meta.
To what extent TikTok will copy its shopping strategy from its China-based equivalent Douyin remains to be seen. TikTok has denied reports that it will follow the path of Douyin by banning links to outside e-commerce.
The role of Gen Z
Gen Z’s enthusiasm for TikTok is likely to work in Shop’s favour. “Gen Z uses TikTok as more than just a social media platform,” says Jen Jones, chief marketing officer of Commercetools, noting that approximately half of young people turn to TikTok before Google. “Gen Z are true digital natives — and they are growing in size and buying power.”
TikTok’s focus on engagement makes for a compelling offer, say experts. “It prioritises engagement above all else,” WGSN’s McDonnell says. “Users love spending time there and it has the highest dwell times of all social media apps. It makes sense that this could be translated to the Shop function — provided the right brands and products are on-boarded over time.”
It’s an easy lift for brands already marketing on TikTok. From ‘showertok’ to ‘girl math’ to ‘tomato girl summer’, TikTok is a breeding ground for micro-trends. Brands already lean into these to market their products. Why not make them shoppable in-app?
Jones expects to see category leaders, particularly beauty brands, leading the charge. “There’s already so much content and influencers with massive followings talking about beauty trends and tips,” the CMO says. “That’s such an easy one now for beauty brands. I think we’ll see some of our bigger customers there pretty quickly. They’re already engaging with their consumers on the platform.” Commercetools’s customers include Ulta Beauty.
Some brands participated in Shop’s beta trial, launched in May. “We’ve had some great success launching new products via Instagram Shop and wanted to move to sell directly where our guests are discovering new products and sharing life hacks, which is now TikTok,” says Melissa Kantor, senior e-commerce manager of Kin Euphorics, Bella Hadid’s wellness drink brand. Engagement to date has not been high, but the brand is still testing the waters and trying to figure out what type of content works best, Kantor says.
Kin Euphorics is targeting heavy TikTok users. “[They are] consumers who are deep into looking for wellness solutions to elevate their everyday,” says Kantor, pointing to deep communities around tags like #Sobertok.
Startup brand Viavia says TikTok Shop helps them to connect with consumers where they hang out. “We view TikTok as an important extension of our e-commerce site,” CEO Li says, adding that it’s a way of providing consumers with different options for how and when they want to shop.
Jones says TikTok Shop might attract more brands to TikTok generally. “A lot of brands didn’t historically look at TikTok as a sales channel. Without being able to tie it directly to ROI, it just became the domain of the social media manager.”
Concerns over impulse buying
As the fashion industry grapples with the challenges of overproduction and overconsumption, could TikTok Shop lead consumers in the wrong direction? “I fear that TikTok Shop will exponentially increase impulse buying of disposable and oftentimes hazardous products,” warns Nina Van Volkinburg, lecturer at London College of Fashion. “Due to the vast power of TikTok’s algorithm — pinpointing exactly what consumers want based on their data — consumers are placed in a disadvantageous position.”
This concern comes amid existing creator worries that TikTok trends and hashtags like #TikTokMadeMeBuyIt encourage excessive consumerism, driving consumers to purchase more products than they otherwise would. Van Volkinburg says that the instantaneousness of hyper-targeted Shop ads encourages consumers to make rash purchases.
However, Commercetools’s Jones argues that impulse buying is simply human nature. “If we’re in a store, we do it,” she says. “[TikTok Shop] gives retailers a very natural and organic way to take advantage of something that is just human behaviour.”
Gen Z’s buying habits tend not to match its outward values, Edelman’s Smith says. “Gen Z, like all generations, has its dualities,” he says. “While Gen Z often self-reports a stronger commitment to sustainability across issues, their overall consumer habits show less change than one might expect. Fast fashion brands are a darling example of how Gen Z doesn’t always shop in accordance with their values.”
According to Archrival research, 70 per cent of Gen Zs in the US admit that, while they care about sustainability, it doesn’t influence what they buy. And 65 per cent said they often choose cheaper or more convenient options even if they’re less sustainable. Meanwhile, TikTok is expected to forge ahead aggressively, offering heavy discounts and coupons to users who shop in-app. Expect a big push for Black Friday and Cyber Monday. For social shopping in the West, this could be a defining winter.
The question, though, is whether TikTok will end up tipping the scales with too aggressive a Shop push. TikTok’s current marketing success is down to the organic feel of the app’s content. If everything on the app is eligible for commission, does this negate that authenticity and appeal?
“The early indications of success is that content related to commerce is high-quality and delivers on everything that audiences love about TikTok. It won’t work if users’ FYP becomes inundated with bad sales pitches,” says Bayla Metzger, Archrival’s senior editor of thought leadership. “Gen Zs love product reviews, tutorials, demos and the like, that give them confidence that what they’re buying is exactly what they need — but they are quick to sniff out when that content is not authentic.”
Correction: Kin's senior e-commerce manager is Melissa Kantor, not Madeline Kantor as previously reported.
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