But TikTok has also made its foray into eCommerce: at the beginning of 2021, it announced a partnership with Shopify , one of the most popular online store creation platforms in the world, to boost the development of businesses and brands within its social network by optimizing its advertising strategies. Shortly after, TikTok took a new step within this alliance, which brought it even closer to becoming an eCommerce platform. With this new integration, the social network planned to offer a new eCommerce experience to its users, in the form of a new shopping tab on the profile of brands or businesses present on Shopify.
TikTok also ventured into the world of live commerce with its TikTok Shop initiative , although this did not last long . Given the success that this formula was having in China (in 2021, Douyin , the Chinese version of TikTok, managed to generate product sales worth $119 billion ), the platform hoped to achieve similar results in the rest of the world, starting with the United Kingdom.
However, the results obtained in the country were australia number data scarce and in the summer of 2022 a change of course was announced in its plans to enter the world of live commerce, slowing down the arrival of TikTok Shop to other countries in Europe (Germany, Spain, France and Italy) and to the USA. Later, in January 2023, it was announced that the arrival of TikTok Shop to Spain and 10 other countries was close, but the social network again delayed its plans and this landing has not yet taken place.
In August 2023, the platform launched Fulfilled by TikTok in the UK , a service that handles all the logistics needed by merchants and brands, from warehousing to shipping, allowing them to delegate those tasks and focus their efforts on marketing and developing their products.
TikTok Shop arrived in the US in September 2023 through a dedicated shopping tab integrated into the “For You” and “Following” sections. Users can search for products, filter by category, discover items through recommendations, conduct live shopping, manage orders, and access affiliate programs for creators.