What is TikTok Live Stream Shopping?
Social commerce is a force to be reckoned with in today’s digital environment and has already been adopted by social media giants like Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest.
TikTok is now adopting social commerce as well – and doing it in a manner that’s as unique as the platform itself.
What is TikTok Live Stream Shopping?
TikTok Live Stream Shopping is a new ecommerce experience being developed by TikTok that allows users to purchase select items from participating online retailers during a live-streaming event.
“TikTok is not only a completely fresh and unique opportunity for people but also for small and large brands. By connecting with the community on a creative level, you’re able to tap into new audiences who may not be active on other platforms.”
— Kiana Corpus, Coordinator, Paid Social at Tinuiti
How does TikTok Live Stream Shopping work?
TikTok Live Stream Shopping functions in a similar fashion to Facebook and Instagram shopping, except applied in a way unique to TikTok’s content delivery.
As a TikTok video plays and products are shown on-screen, pop-up pins will appear related to an item on the video. Users can tap on these pins to add the item to their cart, which directs them to a mobile checkout experience. Users also have the option of waiting until the event is completed and click on a shopping cart pin to browse through all the items featured in the event and select which items they would like to purchase.
Who is utilizing/testing TikTok Live Stream?
Walmart is currently the only large-scale retailer to date that has tested out TikTok Livestream shopping, although the results were so positive that they held two separate events.
Their first pilot shoppable livestream event, a collaboration between TikTok and Walmart called the “Holiday Shop-Along Spectacular,” took place on December 18, 2020, and featured 10 TikTok creators, including such influencers like Michael Le, Devan Anderson, and Taylor Hage.
The event was considered a great success, and netted 7x the amount of predicted views, and grew Walmart’s follower base by 25%.
This encouraged Walmart to attempt a second event called the “Spring Shop-Along: Beauty Edition,” which focused on beauty brands such as NYX, Maybelline, Bliss, and Marc Jacobs and creators like Gabby Morrison.
How do I get my products on TikTok Live Stream?
So far, not much is known about the product selection process nor what specific brands TikTok will be working with once the pilot has been completed.
All we know is that fashion items like clothing and makeup are going to be likely candidates given their presence during Walmart’s pilot campaigns and that the featured products will have to be purchasable online through channels like Walmart Marketplace.
Stay tuned for more updates on TikTok Live Stream Shopping as the program develops and for the release of our upcoming guide “The Ultimate TikTok Guide [2021 – 2022 Edition].
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