TikTok Shop is keen to challenge e-commerce platforms like Amazon and eBay, and will officially launch in Italy, France and Germany on March 31, featuring short videos, customised digital shopfronts, and live-streaming sessions in which questions by potential customers can be answered in real time.
TikTok
Users will be able to purchase the products that appear in their ‘for you’ video feeds, or directly from the social commerce platform during live-streamed sessions. While vendors, from major brands to local SMEs and creators, will promote their products via interactive videos and live shopping sessions. The latter in particular are a faster, more interactive way of connecting with customers, something of a 5.0 version of TV shopping channels.
In Italy, 22.8 million TikTok users will be able to purchase items showcased by creators in real time or via recorded content.
“The experience is similar to buying in a physical store: vendors can answer live questions from users, show their products from different angles, and provide highly personalised advice,” said Jan Wilk, head of operations at TikTok Shop UK.
TikTok’s algorithm, as it does for non-sponsored videos, will display to users the content and hence products that best fit with their preferences. TikTok Shop said there will be “strict checks on products and vendors,” in line with the platform’s rules, but consumer associations are perplexed. In Italy, Codacons said that “the very essence of TikTok, which can generate forms of compulsive shopping” is one of the service’s “critical issues.”
TikTok Shop is a member of Netcomm, the association of digital commerce operators in Italy.
Featuring on TikTok Shop “will boost Goovi’s digital presence, amplify engagement with our community, and enable us to reach new audiences with a strong inclination for social commerce,” said Giorgia Lixi, digital and e-commerce manager for natural cosmetics and supplements brand Goovi, talking to the ANSA agency. “We believe TikTok Shop can contribute significantly to the growth of our online sales segment,” she added.
“We’re expecting a positive impact, both among my existing followers and those who will discover my brand and products for the first time,” said fashion and lifestyle TikToker New Martina, who underlined that “my live sessions clock up on average 100,000 views, leading to increased site traffic and more orders.”
