What Is TikTok Shopping and How to Use It

TikTok shopping has changed the way we shop online. Instead of browsing traditional e-commerce sites, people find and buy products directly through social media posts, reviews and recommendations on the platform. This shift has turned TikTok and other social platforms into virtual malls. It has made shopping easier and completely transformed how brands approach digital marketing.   

Launched in 2023, TikTok Shop is a bold leap into e-commerce, reshaping the online retail landscape. The platform is making significant investments to strengthen its U.S. e-commerce presence, with forecasts suggesting it will generate $17.5 billion in business by 2024. TikTok Shopping is more than just a shopping feature; it offers an immersive in-app experience where brands can connect with consumers right when their interest is piqued.   

This blog will explore TikTok shopping and compare it to other social media shopping features. We will also examine its benefits for businesses, provide a setup guide, and share tips on maximizing TikTok Shop use. 

What is TikTok shopping? 

TikTok shopping is the seamless integration of social commerce with TikTok. Sellers can list their products; plan launches and receive user feedback. At the same time, end-users can find and buy products without leaving the platform. It turns casual browsing into a smooth shopping experience, allowing brands to connect with their audience in a fun and seamless way. 

TikTok’s innovative algorithm hooks users by serving up videos tailored to their interests, creating a scrolling experience that’s hard to resist. With the new shop tab feature, businesses can feature their entire product catalog on their TikTok profiles, making it easier for customers to find the products they need. There is no need to navigate away from the app—shoppers can browse and select items seamlessly.  

By creating a business account, brands can add a shopping bag icon to their profile, providing a dedicated space for users to explore products directly within TikTok. This integration allows customers to purchase within the app or visit the brand's website, offering flexibility and enhancing the overall shopping experience. 

Where is TikTok Shop available? 

TikTok Shop was initially limited to Shopify sellers in the US, the UK and Canada. After a successful trial run, it is now available in several other countries like: 

• Indonesia 
• Malaysia 
• Philippines 
• Singapore 
• Thailand 
• United Kingdom 
• United States 
• Vietnam  

TikTok shopping vs. other platforms 

TikTok Shopping is redefining the social shopping experience, allowing users to make in-app purchases without any interruptions. While Instagram and Facebook rely on external links and product tags that disrupt the flow, TikTok’s seamless integration creates a more engaging and convenient shopping environment, encouraging spontaneous purchases. 

The table below highlights how TikTok shopping stands out as an integrated and engaging solution compared to shopping on Instagram and Facebook: 

It’s noteworthy that 23.7 million US-based users have purchased products using the TikTok Shop feature, and the number of TikTok buyers is expected to reach 39.5 million by 2026.

TikTok Shop supports feed videos and live videos to drive sales and enhance the shopping experience for its users.   

Who can benefit from TikTok shopping? 

TikTok shopping has emerged as a powerful forum for businesses, creators, partners and affiliates, offering unique opportunities to connect with a vast and engaged audience. The platform's integrated shopping features enable seamless commerce, providing substantial benefits to those who leverage its capabilities. Here's how diverse groups can benefit from TikTok shopping:  

• Sellers  
  Big brands as well as small scale businesses sell on TikTok to leverage the platform’s massive user base. The following TikTok shopping features attract sellers to the platform: 
  • Integrated shopping experience: Set up your TikTok Shop to enable social selling. 
  • Enhanced product discovery: Use TikTok’s algorithms, which boost product visibility, to connect effectively with your target audience. 
  • Targeted advertising: Optimize TikTok advertising to target specific user groups based on their interests and behaviors. 
  • Social proof and reviews: Build your online brand reputation through online product reviews and authentic customer experiences. 
  • Data insights: Improve your sales strategies with detailed customer interaction analytics. 
  • Customizable storefronts: Design a store page on TikTok that reflects your brand’s look and identity. 
  • Lower entry barriers: Sell your products worldwide with minimum investment requirements. 
• Creators  
  Creators drive engagement on TikTok by consistently making content. TikTok Shop empowers creators to monetize their content through: 
  • Influencer collaborations: Build an effective influencer marketing strategy to promote your TikTok Shop.  
  • Real-time trends: Use trending topics and challenges to produce relevant and engaging content. 
  • Engagement and interactivity: Create live streams and videos to interact with your audience while promoting products. 
  • Direct commission opportunities: Generate revenue through affiliate links and sales promotions within your content.  
• Partners  
  Partners are businesses and brands that collaborate with TikTok and its content creators to expand their reach. Here is how TikTok shopping allows them to amplify their presence by offering: 
  • Global reach: Tap into TikTok’s international audience to expand your market. 
  • Flexible ad formats: Choose from various ad options, like in-feed ads or branded challenges, to promote your products. 
  • Local and regional targeting: Focus your ads on specific geographies to reach local audiences. 
  • Enhanced brand visibility: Boost your brand’s presence by leveraging popular trends and challenges. 
• Affiliates  
  Affiliates earn commissions by promoting products. TikTok shopping allows the affiliates to engage with potential buyers directly with their content by offering: 
  • Seamless integration with content: Include product promotions in your TikTok videos and posts. 
  • In-app checkout: Benefit from TikTok’s easy checkout process to increase sales conversions. 
  • Data-driven insights: Use performance data to refine your promotional strategies and improve results. 
  • Customer interaction: Engage with users directly through TikTok’s messaging for better support and relationship-building. 

TikTok shopping vs Instagram shopping for business 

When comparing TikTok Shopping to Instagram Shopping for businesses, it’s clear that each platform offers unique advantages tailored to different marketing strategies. TikTok Shopping capitalizes on its engaging video format and algorithm-driven content discovery, allowing brands to connect with a younger, highly interactive audience.  

Adults aged 18 to 24 are 3.2 times more likely than the average consumer to purchase TikTok Shop. Businesses can showcase products through entertaining short videos and live streams, making shopping feel like a dynamic experience rather than a transactional one. This approach encourages spontaneous purchases, as users often feel inspired by the creativity of the content they consume. 

Instagram is centered around impactful visual content, appealing to a mature audience that values aesthetics and brand loyalty. Businesses can tag products in their posts and stories, guiding users to their online stores without disrupting the browsing experience. Instagram also offers powerful analytics and advertising tools that enable brands to target specific demographics effectively.  

Instagram marketing benefits from a strong influencer marketing ecosystem and is projected to surpass $37 billion in social commerce revenue. Brands with carefully curated products favor Instagram shopping to foster customer loyalty.   

For example, a fashion brand may use TikTok shopping to boost sales by launching a hashtag challenge where content creators creatively style one of their designs. The same brand could leverage Instagram marketing to introduce its new collection through high-profile influencers, featuring shoppable posts and behind-the-scenes videos to increase engagement and drive traffic to its website. 

What are the features of TikTok shopping? 

The TikTok Shop supports several features to enhance shopping experiences on the platform. Here are the top three features explained: 

1. Live streaming feature 

This feature allows brands to create exciting campaigns that connect with their target audience and achieve their business goals. Hosts usually demonstrate the product, discuss its features and answer viewers' questions in the comments. This interactive approach keeps the audience engaged and encourages them to make purchases.  

For example, hosts might try on products, provide a tutorial and discuss the best occasions to use them. Each time a product purchase occurs during the stream, hosts often give a shoutout to the buyer, adding a personal touch to the shopping experience. 

The image below showcases how this feature works. During a live shopping event, the host presents a product—in this case, the MELAA Rose Lip Gloss and MELAA Eye Shadow. Viewers can buy the products directly from the live stream by clicking the ‘Buy’ button. 

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2. E-commerce integration feature 

TikTok Shop’s e-commerce integration allows you to sync product catalogs, track inventory and process orders directly on TikTok. This feature connects your TikTok account to any major e-commerce platform like Shopify or WooCommerce. It unlocks capabilities such as showcasing products in TikTok videos, tracking sales and monitoring shipping.  

TikTok shopping bridges the gap between social media and e-commerce, providing a seamless shopping experience for customers. For example, a seller can create product-focused content on TikTok and direct traffic to their Shopify store by linking their TikTok Shop and Shopify accounts. 

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3. In-app purchase feature 

TikTok shopping allows users to purchase products directly from the TikTok application. This feature bridges product discovery and purchase, allowing users to buy the products they like without leaving the app.  

Brands can engage their potential customers with live streams and videos by displaying their products directly on the content. The convenience of buying a product with a few clicks within the app encourages users to make the purchase immediately. The option for an immediate purchase creates a more engaging and satisfying experience for users, leading to improved conversion rates. 

4. Video Generator tool 

The advanced Video Generator tool is perfectly aligned with the rise of TikTok Shopping, enabling businesses to create high-quality TikTok-style videos that showcase their products in just minutes.  

Users can effortlessly upload their product images or videos, and the tool leverages sophisticated technology to generate engaging content that drives conversions. With no prior video production experience required, this intuitive solution empowers brands to enhance their TikTok Shopping presence and captivate their audience, making it easier than ever to turn views into sales. 

5. TikTok Pixel 

Businesses can elevate their TikTok Shopping experience with the TikTok Pixel, a powerful tool that simplifies performance tracking. Users enjoy easy one-click installation without the need for coding or developers. By leveraging the TikTok Pixel, they can track user event types, recognize purchasing behaviors, and retarget existing customers with precision. This capability allows brands to optimize their campaigns and drive higher conversion rates in the fast-paced world of TikTok Shopping. 

Benefits of TikTok shopping 

Let's dive into why TikTok shopping is quickly becoming essential for businesses: 

1. Reaches new customers 

With over 1 billion active users, TikTok shopping helps brands reach a wider audience. Brands can showcase their products to a diverse and engaged audience, expanding their market reach. For example, in its first month, Shein attracted 28% of its customers from TikTok within months of launching its TikTok Shop.  

2. Drives more conversions 

The smooth integration of shopping features with the app means users can purchase products without leaving the platform, driving more conversions. It simplifies the buying process, making customers more likely to complete their purchases. Not surprisingly, studies indicate TikTok users are 1.7 times more likely to buy than users on other platforms. 

3. Encourages user-generated content 

Brands often invite customers to create and share content featuring their products on TikTok, encouraging user-generated content (UGC). It enriches your brand’s content library with authentic and relatable assets, fostering stronger customer connections. 

For example, look at Samsung’s #danceAwesome campaign. Samsung created this campaign to promote its Galaxy A phones. The dance challenge featured a jingle by the world-famous K-pop band BLACKPINK. It was the first global TikTok challenge by a brand that generated 14 billion video views and created nearly 5 million pieces of UGC. 

Suggested Read: How to leverage user-generated content to drive engagement & conversions on social media 

4. Supports impactful product placement 

Brands can effortlessly integrate their products into dynamic videos, live streams, and challenges, creating a shopping experience that feels genuine and relatable. This innovative approach helps cultivate customer loyalty, with an impressive 81.3% of sales coming from returning customers.  

TikTok Shopping offers these compelling advantages, positioning itself as an essential tool for brands eager to enhance their e-commerce strategies. 

Suggested Reading: Social Media for E-commerce: How to Stand Out From the Competition 

How to set up TikTok Shop for your business  

Setting up a TikTok Shop for your business is easy with the TikTok Seller Center, a platform that lets you manage your business directly on TikTok. It is available in Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, the United Kingdom, the United States, and Vietnam. 

Just follow these simple steps to get your TikTok Shop up and running! 

1. Sign up 

To set up your TikTok Shop, sign up on the TikTok Seller Center with your email address and phone number or your TikTok account. This initiates the registration process for your business. 

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2. Complete your application 

Once your sign-up is complete, select the country and the type of business. Individuals can sell under their own names. However, if you set up a TikTok Shop for a company, you must provide information like your legal business name and employment identification number (EIN).  

Next, set up your TikTok Shop’s complete pick-up address with the postcode, the name of a preferred contact person and the contact number. If the return address differs from the pick-up address, specify it accordingly.  

To complete the TikTok shop application, click ‘Start your business’ after accepting the terms and conditions. 

3. Get approved 

Go to the TikTok Seller Center homepage. Click on verify documents. You need to upload the required documents and enter the seller's information here.  

For an individually owned business, you will need to share an image of the front and back of your passport, national ID or driver's license. 

For a corporation, you will need:  

• Identification document issued by the government of the legal representative, company director, or person with significant control (PSC). 
• A business license, registration or similar official documents 

Once you submit the documents, your application will remain 'pending' until approved. Once verified, upload your bank account details to activate your TikTok Shop. 

4. Add your products 

Head to the TikTok Seller Center and click “Products” to add your items. Then, upload product images, descriptions and other details. 

5. Set prices and shipping 

Finally, set your prices and configure shipping options by navigating to the “Pricing” and “Shipping” tabs in the TikTok Seller Center. And you’re set. Your TikTok Shop is up for business! 

TikTok shopping best practices 

To make the most of TikTok shopping, here are some practical tips to boost your success: 

1. Leverage trends while creating relatable content 

Understand your audience’s interests to curate personal and relatable content. Use this information to create authentic and engaging content with TikTok’s features like filters, music playlists, and effects. Additionally, identify the latest trends that align with your brand values and add them into your content plan.    

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2. Use hashtags effectively 

Effective hashtag strategy plays a crucial role in making your content go viral on TikTok by increasing its visibility and discoverability. To find the right hashtags, research trending topics within your niche, analyze successful videos, and use TikTok’s search feature to find popular tags. Aim for a maximum of three to five relevant hashtags per post to maintain focus and engage your audience effectively, maximizing your chances of reaching a broader audience. 

Suggested Reading: How to Find the Hashtags That Actually Work 

3. Product page optimization  

To thrive on TikTok, understanding and optimizing the platform’s algorithm is key. Post consistently, use trending hashtags and sounds, and engage with your audience to enhance your reach. Take advantage of TikTok’s shopping capabilities, such as product links and shoppable tags, to create a smoother customer journey. Categorize your content effectively and incorporate clear CTAs that guide potential customers toward the next step.  

Approach your TikTok shopping pages like any e-commerce site, focusing on high-quality images, relevant keywords, and cohesive brand voice. Ensure your product descriptions are informative and keep titles short and catchy, under 34 characters. 

To keep your audience engaged, regularly feature new products in your content. Create short, engaging videos that highlight product features and benefits. Schedule content to plan and refine your product highlight posts for maximum impact. 

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4. Influencer Marketing  

The influencer marketing landscape is booming, with brands vying to team up with the hottest self-made internet stars while influencers look to capitalize on their success. This win-win collaboration works for brands of all sizes, including those with smaller budgets. TikTok research shows that 64% of TikTok users respond that their purchase decision was driven by influencer recommendations. Partnering with influencers boosts your brand's visibility and connects you with users who trust their favorite creator's recommendations. 

5. Explore TikTok Ads  

TikTok offers a range of ad formats that can help sellers effectively market their TikTok Shop. Key options include In-Feed Ads, which integrate smoothly into user feeds and feel organic, and Top View Ads, which provide maximum visibility by appearing right when users open the app. You can also explore Branded Takeover ads, which display product information by occupying the full screen when a user opens the app. 

Branded Hashtag Challenges invite users to engage with your brand creatively, encouraging them to generate and share content. Additionally, Branded Effects enable users to interact with your brand through unique filters, enhancing recognition and engagement. 

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For sellers, leveraging these ad formats can significantly amplify your reach and drive sales. Captivating In-Feed Ads can quickly showcase your products, while immersive Top View Ads grab attention when users log in. By encouraging user participation through Branded Hashtag Challenges, you can build a community around your brand, fostering loyalty and increasing visibility. Using TikTok advertising can transform your TikTok Shop into a go-to destination for potential customers. 

6. Leverage social listening tools 

You can also leverage social listening tools to track online conversations about product offerings and gain insights into customer opinions and industry trends. This practice boosts engagement, uncovers new opportunities for your brand, and can help you refine your social strategies.  

Tip:  Sprinklr Insights can streamline social listening efforts, offering sophisticated tools that allow businesses to analyze sentiments, assess brand performance, and respond to customer feedback in real-time—turning insights into meaningful actions that drive growth. 

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Final thoughts 

TikTok shopping is changing the game by combining entertainment with purchasing. Thanks to live streams, creator collaborations and trending challenges, users can easily buy products directly within the app. 

TikTok shopping provides incredible opportunities for brands to boost sales and connect with users. However, standing out among countless brands, maintaining engagement, tracking performance, and navigating algorithm changes can be challenging.  

Sprinklr Social’s AI-powered content management framework effortlessly navigates these issues. It is the preferred platform for organizations that manage social media across multiple brands, teams and regions. 

Book a demo and discover how we can support your social media and e-commerce goals!