What is TikTok Shop and will it ever become global?

TikTok Shop has been available in some markets, including Vietnam, Singapore, and Indonesia, for just over a year and the company is now considering expanding this feature. 

The social media platform has begun testing to expand this service elsewhere. Despite reports that it had dropped plans to launch in the US and Europe after struggling to make progress, it is now testing the feature in the US and a number of e-commerce brands are already on board. 

TikTok is now moving forward with the expansion of the Shop feature, which gives companies the chance to sell products directly on the app with a full checkout experience. 

Users will be able to search through brands and find products via the TikTok app and make purchases using the shopping icon on the brand’s profile. They will also be able to use this to view the brand’s entire catalogue and checkout without leaving the TikTok app. 

Users have been able to buy products through TIkTok ads for some time, but the rollout of this new feature would make the process simpler, as currently they are directed to an in-app browser to complete their purchase. 

If it goes ahead, this won’t be the first social media site to branch out into e-commerce. In 2019, Instagram launched a feature called “Checkout Instagram” that allows users to buy a variety of products using the platform directly. The feature includes a payment screen so that payment information is stored on the Instagram user’s account for a seamless checkout process. 

TikTok has been testing its Shop feature in the US since November and several brands are taking part in the testing phase. According to a recent article, some of the brands that are involved in this process are KimChi Chic, PacSun, Revolve and Willow Boutique. The company hasn’t provided any more information about the launch or timescales.