Launched in September 2023, TikTok Shop is an increasingly popular social commerce feature on the TikTok app. As TikTok grows and adds more practical options, it’s also becoming a place where people get inspired, search for products, and shop online like they do using Google and Amazon platforms. According to Statista, 71.2% of TikTok users purchased items when they stumbled upon them in their feed, Stories, etc.
Is your eCommerce brand on TikTok? Do you have a TikTok Shop set up and running? If not, you may change your mind knowing that the TikTok app, with over one billion active users, is the go-to place for 58.2% of them looking for shopping inspiration. It’s where 45% of users purchase from paid influencer recommendations and 39.1% actively look for products to buy in TikTok Shop. Also, it is free to register as a TikTok Shop seller.
According to Carrie Silberman, Director of Social Commerce at Blue Wheel Media: "There are several first mover advantages so we're encouraging our brands to invest now. With fewer competitors upfront, early players can capture a larger market share and even set trends within their niche."
This blog will focus on strategies to help your brand achieve profitable results selling with TikTok Shop. We recommend downloading our Ultimate Guide to TikTok Shop and reading one of our previous blog posts to learn more about how to start a TikTok Shop and discover best practices.
What Is TikTok Shop and How Does TikTok Shop Work?
TikTok Shop, an in-app shopping feature provided by TikTok, aims to drive meaningful and seamless shopping experiences. What does that mean? Brands, merchants, and creators can sell directly through shoppable content on the app using features like shoppable videos and LIVE streams. On the other hand, TikTok users can discover and explore products and purchase them without leaving the app. With the right brand strategy and through collaboration with TikTok affiliates, you can build trust and long-lasting relationships with your customers.
TikTok Shop’s key characteristics are authenticity and creativity. While on other social media platforms brands and content creators focus on delivering polished and carefully planned content, TikTok is where younger demographics expect and look for originality, trends, sounds, memes, challenges, and hashtags. For example, TikTok Made Me Buy It is a hashtag with billions of views on the app, helping people discover and purchase products through videos posted by TikTok users and boosting sales.
The TikTok social media platform is popular among Gen Z and Gen Alpha, who prefer creative, fun, and unique content over branded looks that may work on Instagram or Facebook. Tell a story about your brand and products using trending sounds and challenges and share customer experience, do not deliver a sales pitch to a TikTok audience. It’s also an app where entertaining, short-form video content thrives and has the opportunity to become viral overnight. Keep these aspects in mind as you work on your TikTok Shop strategy.
TikTok Shop Winning Strategies for eCommerce Brands
TikTok Shop is an excellent option for brands to reach a wider, young, and highly engaged audience. TikTok users are exposed to product recommendations from other regular app users, influencers, and affiliates collaborating with brands. The engaging, entertaining, and sound-on nature of short TikTok videos combined with the audience demographics increases impulse purchases and boosts sales.
Below are our top recommendations for eCommerce brands looking to succeed in selling on TikTok Shop.
Optimize Your TikTok Shop
If you already set up your TikTok Shop, and have been running it for some time, review your product listings and retail readiness and optimize accordingly. Pay close attention to your brand’s product presentation with TikTok Shop, as you would on a DTC website or Amazon. Ensure your product descriptions are accurate and detailed, and include high-quality images and videos.
We can’t emphasize enough the importance of having authentic, fun, and creative short-form video content on TikTok. Maximize your sales potential by creating engaging videos showing the benefits and educating viewers about using your products. Another great tactic is to include product reviews and testimonials in your videos. This will help you build credibility and trust among the TikTok app users. Combine branded content, UGC, and an affiliate program to achieve the best results via TikTok Shop.
Similar to various eCommerce platforms, TikTok Shop social commerce allows you to offer exclusive discounts and limited-time offers to TikTok users, encouraging them to buy directly within the app.
Leverage TikTok Trends and Challenges
When creating content for TikTok Shop, consider the latest trends and challenges You can always check TikTok for Business success stories and TikTok Creative Center with the latest trends for inspiration.
Align your TikTok Shop product strategy with popular trends and challenges on the app to improve visibility and engagement. Sounds and music are important elements on TikTok, so keep up with the latest music trends or incorporate your audio to enhance brand recognition. Deliver the hook in your videos’ first 3-6 seconds to grab the viewers’ attention.
Partner with TikTok Affiliates for Your TikTok Shop
TikTok affiliates are the driving force behind TikTok Shop revenue. Finding the right people for collaboration is crucial as they will act as your brand ambassadors and showcase your products in their TikTok videos.
TikTok LIVE events are a great way to demonstrate product usage and 40% of TikTok Gen Z users make purchases during live streams. Partner with affiliates for this purpose as using entertaining hosts keeps people engaged longer and builds brand relationships and trust. You can also use this opportunity to offer exclusive deals and discounts.
You can benefit from setting up a TikTok affiliate program to promote your products with affiliates using links and paying them commissions for sales generated through their content.
Blue Wheel can support your brand by setting up your account within the TikTok affiliate program, reaching out to thousands of potential affiliates, and narrowing them down to around a hundred suitable ones for your brand. TikTok recommends a 10-20 percent commission fee for affiliates. We can work with you to find the right affiliates and decide on the best initial commissions as you start collaborating with them for your TikTok Shop.
When an affiliate resonates with your target audience, we suggest teaming with them again. This is an easy way to get more content like what you have already seen work for your brand on TikTok.
Prioritize the Right Products on Your TikTok Shop
Being strategic with the product mix is critical for selling success on TikTok. Think entertainment first when deciding what products to sell via TikTok Shop. Ask yourself if they could be TikTok “sticky” products. If you have many items, think about ones that affiliates could film in fun and creative ways to play into TikTok trends. Consider which product features should be demonstrated with a video and if the product is easy for an affiliate to film.
Use Fulfilled by TikTok (FBT) When Selling on TikTok Shop
TikTok recently introduced a new pricing structure "co-funded free shipping" which goes into effect starting August 26th. If the order value is $30+, Fulfilled by Tiktok (FBT) will cover up to 70% of the cost and pass the remaining 30% to the merchant. For 3PL/4PL shipping, the subsidy is capped at $2 per order. So, FBT will save merchants around 40% by using it as their fulfillment method. According to Carrie Silberman, Director of Social Commerce at Blue Wheel Media, "At a high level, this shows how being an early player and doubling down on the investment now for TikTok Shop is critical as TikTok is trending towards having the seller cover more shipping fees."
Benefit from Impulse Purchases
More than half of TikTok users say they make impulse purchases on the app, so a relatively low price point is where brands have leaned heavily. This is a huge prospect for brands in categories where the products are typically more expensive.
Not following the pack is an opportunity for eCommerce brands selling on TikTok. For example, a Ninja Kitchen product in the picture below is sold for around $200 and has found viral success with TikTok Shop.
To Conclude
Implementing these TikTok Shop strategies can help your eCommerce brand effectively engage with the audience, increase sales, and build a loyal customer base on TikTok.
Are you ready to take your TikTok Shop to the next level? Get in touch with Blue Wheel today!
As an accredited TikTok Shop Partner and a badged TikTok Agency Partner, we have the knowledge and experience to support your brand’s success. We are the only agency to offer setup, fulfillment, creative, affiliate, live, creator, and advertising all in one.
Anja Pendic is the Content Marketing Specialist at Blue Wheel, where she plays a key role in creating and managing content for the company’s website. With extensive experience in digital marketing, copywriting, and social media management, she crafts engaging blogs, case studies, and landing pages. Anja has worked across various platforms, including Amazon, Meta, and TikTok, delivering impactful content and strategies.
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