TikTok Shopping has passed the 'even my mom shops on TikTok' test. For small and medium-sized businesses in China, it has been stealing traffic and revenues from Alibaba as their primary sales channel.

All-in-one shopping solution

TikTok is investing hard to increase takeup in the US and have rolled out four features that make it  Google Ads, Meta Ads, Shopify, and a Live Shopping app in one:

1. Shoppable video
2. Shop page
3. Live shopping
4. Searchable shopping.

Brandless, Seamless, and Priceless.

Users can watch a video and check out in 4 clicks. The transactions happen so swiftly that brand identity takes a backseat with shoppers bypassing brand comparisons, reputation assessments, and reviews.

User’s interactions from discovery from the video to purchase the product on the checkout screen

And creator content showcasing product features and benefits is plentiful, as are the cheap drop shipped products.

Top search results from TikTok Shop showing the products at an extremely low price

What are brands doing now:

As you may already know, TikTok is a unique platform that requires a distinct approach to hack into the TikTok world. TikTok Shopping ads predominantly rely on entertaining content highlighting product experiences and leveraging creators’ brands. This sets a high bar for brands aiming to enter this space, not to mention achieving engagement and conversions. Brands are taking different strategies:

1. Blanketing: Many established brands are taking a conservative approach by closely observing the landscape before venturing into TikTok Shop. They don’t play the rules in the TikTok game. They invest in traditional social media ads and repurpose creative from other platforms, featuring polished commercials that struggle to resonate with the unique TikTok audience and fail to generate engagement.
2. Outsourcing: Some brands opt for a quicker route (or lazy route) by outsourcing the most challenging task—content creation—to influencers, assembling a team of creators to experiment and rapidly gain insights from their dedicated follower base.