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After over a decade of meticulously staged, edited and polished content on social media, TikTok paved the way for a new, more authentic style of posting online.
With a feed that tailors content to the user’s interests, TikTok has something for everyone. From dance challenges to storytimes, tutorials to daily vlogs, TikTok provides a daily dose of refreshing and highly engaging content that people are loving.
After nearly a year of trials, TikTok rolled out its latest offering in the world of social commerce in 2022: TikTok Shopping.
As one of the fastest-growing social platforms with over 1 billion active users, it’s no wonder so many small businesses are considering selling on the app. But before jumping on the bandwagon, it’s important to understand how it works, as well as the pros and cons.
Allow us to explain…
TikTok Shop is a new shopping feature that allows merchants, brands and creators to showcase and sell products directly through TikTok by linking products on in-feed videos, LIVEs and the product showcase tab.
There are two ways to make money with TikTok Shop.
You can either sell as a merchant, listing your own products or you can sell as an affiliate, making commission on existing products that you sell via links in your videos, LIVEs or showcase.
After completing these steps, TikTok will verify your documents. This can take up to 2 days, however most accounts are verified within a few hours.Once your account has successfully been verified, you can start to upload your products.
You can sell a wide range of items on TikTok Shop, however there are some ‘unsupported’ and restricted items.
Unsupported products include
There are also some product categories which are restricted, where only merchants who meet certain requirements are allowed to sell them. In order to sell any of the below products, you must first obtain the necessary approvals from TikTok:
Some restricted items may only be sold when sellers are invited to do so by TikTok. Here are some ‘invite only’ product categories:
Becoming an affiliate seller is a great way to monetise your TikTok account.
This allows you to make a commission on existing products listed by merchants that you sell via links in your videos, LIVEs or showcase.
When the Shopping feature launched in 2022, 180K accounts made over £3.9M in commission in one month, and 42K made over £171K in just one day.
Now, those figures are staggeringly higher. In 2023, just one seller made a weekly revenue of £141,000 which equals to about £7.3M a year- that's some serious money!
Please note, only 18+ accounts with over 1,000 followers that have posted a video in the last 28 days can become affiliate sellers.
Here’s how you can become an affiliate seller on TikTok Shop:
Once you have completed these fields, TikTok will review your application. This can take up to two days, but most accounts are approved within a few hours.
After your application has been reviewed, it’s time to start adding products to your ‘Showcase’.
Showcase is the tab on your profile where you can list products from the TikTok shop. Your followers and other users can then buy products via your page.
You can also add these products in your videos. Simply film or upload your video, tap ‘Next’ and use the ‘Add link’ button to add in any products you have mentioned within the video.
Please note, whenever you link a product in your videos, ‘Ad’ will be added into your video caption, even if you haven’t been contacted by the brand to create a video.
From here, your viewers will be able to buy the products you have listed in your video directly in the app and you will receive a commission whenever a product has been purchased via your video or showcase.
You can see how much commission you will make per item per sale when you browse the products.
Selling on TikTok Shop allows you to reach a much wider audience than if you just stuck to selling through your own website or other retailers.
This is thanks to TikTok’s one billion active users, most of whom are aged 18-24– the age demographic that is mostly likely to purchase products online.
Because TikTok is such a visual and authentic platform, it is the perfect place to show off your products.
Once you have your audience hooked with an engaging video or LIVE, they can then easily purchase your product from the link without having to leave the app.
Setting up your TikTok Shop is quick and easy to do. It doesn’t require any special coding skills like a regular website does and you can get everything up and running within a couple of minutes.
TikTok charges much lower commission fees compared to other selling platforms.
For the first 90 days, you can benefit from a commission fee of 1.8% for each product sale. After the 90 days, the fee will increase to 5%, however this is still significantly lower than most other platforms.
For example, when selling on Amazon, you must pay for a Selling Plan as well as selling fees ranging between 8-15%.
This means you won’t be charged as much to sell your products, meaning you can list them for slightly lower prices, making people more likely to buy.
TikTok Shop makes it incredibly easy for you to work with influencers. Influencers can request a sample and they will be required to post a video linking to your product.
Additionally, any affiliate sellers can post videos linking to your products and, chances are, anyone looking to make as much money as possible will promote just about anything in a video, helping boost your sales!
Currently, the payment options available on TikTok Shop are limited to debit/credit card and Apple Pay.
There isn’t an option to pay with PayPal, which many people prefer when shopping online due to the protection should something go wrong.
There is an option to buy now, pay later with Klarna, however this is only on orders above £20.
TikTok shop was originally only available in select countries including the US, UK, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. By the end of 2022, TikTok Shop had expanded to Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, the Philippines, Singapore and Vietnam. While this shows clear progress, there are still many countries which do not have access to the platform.
Unfortunately, some products are restricted or unsupported on TikTok Shop, including digital products such as eBooks, music and software.
Beauty brand Made By Mitchell went viral after selling mystery beauty bundles on TikTok Shop in 2022. Users would purchase the bundle and open it on video, revealing what they got. The bundles received mixed reviews, with some buyers left disappointed after receiving makeup in colours they would not typically use.
However, the phrase ‘there’s no such thing as bad publicity’ couldn’t be more true here! With so many mixed reviews, more and more people have been persuaded into buying the bundle to see what they receive and the brand has sold over 2.4M products on TikTok shop, with 230K videos using the hashtag #madebymitchell.
After hitting their 500K followers milestone, the brand used this as an opportunity to launch a targeted flash sale. Using the TikTok Shop studio space in Manchester, Made By Mitchell created engaging Shoppable LIVEs, with makeup tutorials and fun 'get ready with me' sessions.
With the Barbie Movie premiere coinciding with their campaign, the brand also created a 'Barbie Bundle' and demonstrated how to get the Barbie look across their videos and LIVEs. This, in collaboration with trusted TikTok creators who promoted the products across their channels helped Made By Mitchell to generate an amazing GMV of $2 million in just one week.
In February 2023, TikTok Shop launched their new 'Wellness' category, allowing partners to sell supplements and nutritional products (products which had previously been restricted). One brand which quickly took off was Wellgard, which sells a range of different vitamin supplements and probiotics.
Prior to TikTok's updates, the brand had been posting tutorial style videos, showcasing how to use their products as part of drink and meal recipes. Unfortunately, these videos weren't gaining much engagement, generating an average of 530 views per video, and 25 likes.
However, when TikTok launched their new category, Wellgard took a new approach. They started targeting female audiences with their Vitaflora probiotics for women, linking the product in each video through TikTok Shop.
Their campaign addressed common vaginal health issues women face, introducing their product as a fix-all solution. Quickly their numbers started to grow. However, their greatest success came when they collaborated with creators, who made UGC to promote the probiotics.
Hearing positive experiences from trusted influencers sold the probiotics to wider audiences, with the brand selling over 418.4K products.
Beauty and lifestyle brand P.Louise also started selling a ‘lucky dip’ bundle, which features a selection of makeup products and the potential to receive the brand’s best selling goal diary worth more than double the price of the lucky dip.Much like Made by Mitchell, these unboxing videos went viral after people revealed all of the fantastic products they had received.
Another campaign that has made the brand go viral is the incredible deals they run through TikTok Shop. For example, the brand nearly sold out their entire range of Bad B*tch Energy Sets after they ran a 3 for £25 (each set is worth £22 individually).
This great example of TikTok Shop Marketing has resulted in over 1.4M sales for the brand through TikTok alone.
As a business owner, you may be wondering if selling on TikTok Shop is right for you.
While there are some definite benefits to selling on this platform, there are also some potential drawbacks that you should consider before making a decision.
If you’re still unsure about whether TikTok Shop is a suitable ecommerce platform, our team of experts at Statuo can help. Get in touch today.
TikTok Shop allows merchants and creators to showcase and sell products directly on the platform. There are two main ways to engage with shopping on TikTok: through in-feed videos and the product showcase tab. Users can explore and buy products directly within the app, facilitating a more seamless shopping experience.
While TikTok Shop offers a convenient way for users to explore and buy products, it is essential to exercise caution when making purchases. Some of the shops on TikTok have been criticised for selling poor quality items or not delivering on payments (Although TikTok is has pretty stringent selling regulations and are quick to refund should any issues occur). Always check reviews and research the seller before making a purchase.
To become a TikTok Shop seller, businesses must create an account and set up a shop page on the platform. Registering for a TikTok Shop is typically free, and once your shop is set up, you can sell your products to TikTok's millions of users. Be sure to adhere to any platform-specific guidelines and use engaging content to attract potential customers.
Earnings from TikTok Shop are influenced by a variety of factors, including product price, sales volume, and marketing efforts. Focusing on creating engaging content, partnering with TikTok creators, and riding trending waves can all help increase your sales and revenue. However, there is no set amount that one can expect to earn from TikTok Shop as it varies from seller to seller.
To buy items from TikTok Shop, watch for shopping tags on in-feed videos or head over to the product showcase tab on a creator's or brand's TikTok account. Click on the tagged product or browse the product showcases to find items you like. Then, follow the in-app prompts to complete your purchase.
To buy through TikTok Shop, follow these steps:
Alternatively, you can click the 'Shop' tab on the menu bar at the bottom, allowing you to explore and search through thousands of products.
Some items on TikTok Shop may be priced lower due to various factors such as manufacturer costs, promotional offers, or increased sales volume. However, it is essential to exercise caution when purchasing inexpensive products, as they could be of lower quality or originate from unreliable sellers. Always research the product and seller before making a purchase.
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