TikTok has unveiled a two-day shopping event called ‘On Trend’ which will allow users to purchase directly from brands on the platform during a series of live streaming sessions.
‘On Trend’ will take place on December 8 and 9, with TikTok teaming up with brands such as Charlotte Tilbury, L’Oreal, Look Fantastic, Nutribullet and JD for 10 hours of live streaming across the two days.
Speaking to Retail Week about the event launch, TikTok general manager UK of global business solutions Kris Boger said: “You can have an account as a business and you can connect your product inventory with your TikTok account. When people see your TikToks, they can transact directly within the TikTok experience and complete that transaction. It’s quite exciting, that’s quite a frictionless way of transacting”.
He added: “[Live-streaming] is an area we are quite excited about, it’s the ability to have someone talking about a product or showcasing a product and you can click on [the product] and transact upon it there.”
The power of celebrity
Well-known TikTok creators and TV presenters, such as Gemma Collins and Rylan Clark, will team up with featured brands to provide users with information and demos of products in a series of Trend Live sessions on the app. Retailers will then sell the products featured in the sessions directly on TikTok through a dedicated product link.
Brands will also be offered the opportunity to have a Shop function on their profile which can redirect customers to their website to finalise any purchases. TikTok also works with brands to create targeted ads and has also held events such as shoppable concerts in collaboration with brands and artists.
According to Marketing Science EU Retail Vertical Research 2021 conducted by Walnut Unlimited and commissioned by TikTok, one in three have purchased something in a supermarket after being inspired by a TikTok, while 43% of users have discovered or been inspired to find out more about a store they have seen on TikTok. The hashtag #TikTokMadeMeBuyIt now has over 7bn views.
TikTok has placed an emphasis on ecommerce in recent months as more and more retailers create profiles to increase engagement with their consumers. To capitalise on the increased interest in product discovery on TikTok, the video-sharing platform has launched its own ecommerce solution TikTok Shopping, introduced live streaming shopping, as well as embarked on partnerships with Shopify and Square among others.
Some brands have already achieved strong success through content creation on TikTok. Ice cream brand Little Moons, through publication of its own content, as well as investment in TikTok ad formats, recorded a 1,300% rise in sales in Tesco alone during the month of February 2021, growth the brand attributed to its activity on the platform.
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