27th August 2021

POV: TikTok Shopify Partnership

Background:

TikTok is expanding its partnership with Shopify allowing merchants to add Shopping tabs and to create storefronts on their profiles.

Details and Implications:

The new partnership between TikTok and Shopify will allow users to buy the products they discover on TikTok straight from the app. TikTok was the most downloaded app last year and many ‘TikTok’ products have been ‘discovered’ by people using the app – resulting in mass purchasing from consumers. From skin care to the famous ‘TikTok leggings’ the app has the power to influence popular shopping trends.

The partnership harnesses this element of the app and allows merchants to create shopping tabs on their profiles, synching their product catalogues to the app and creating mini storefronts enticing users to purchase products they’ve seen in videos on the app.

The partnership will begin with a pilot in the US and UK and will roll out to merchants in Canada in coming weeks, it will then roll out to other markets in later months. Kylie Jenner is one of the first merchants to use the service, selling her cosmetics brand directly on TikTok. Merchants can request to join the programme.

Additionally, Shopify merchants will be able to use their product links to tag products in their TikTok videos, which will allow users to click the tagged product and be directed towards the merchant’s storefront in order to make a purchase.

Last October TikTok partnered with Shopify for the first time which allowed Shopify merchants to create, run and optimise their TikTok ads through the Shopify dashboard and use the TikTok pixel. This new partnership expansion takes things further and expands the ecommerce opportunities on the TikTok app itself.

Blake Chandlee, Global Business Solutions President at TikTok said: "TikTok is uniquely placed at the center of content and commerce, and these new solutions make it even easier for businesses of all sizes to create engaging content that drives consumers directly to the digital point of purchase.”

Also this week Facebook has announced that ads in Instagram’s Shop tab will now be available after successful testing, providing a new way for brands and retailers to reach people that are ready to shop, and it previously added Shops to both WhatsApp and Facebook marketplace.

Summary:

This partnership is a further step in the collapse of the sales funnel with advertising and commerce merging in global digital platforms that have become the new engines of growth. These platforms have become the new countries where people live their lives, with more users than countries have citizens, and they continue to provide new ways for brands to sell to consumers directly and at scale.

Further reading:

Adweek | AdAge | TechCrunch

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