As we covered recently, live shopping has become a modern-day phenomenon in Asia, but thus far the format has failed to truly take off in Western markets. However, this hasn’t deterred TikTok. The company is continuing to move forward and push its TikTok Shop ecommerce feature as it looks to establish itself as the top social shopping destination.
The TikTok Shop beta went live in April, and since then the video-sharing social platform has slowly rolled out the service, inviting a select number of brands and retailers to take part, ahead of a wider public release.
Now, TikTok has added more options and features to the service as it looks to continue pushing the ecommerce arm of the platform in an attempt to popularise live shopping in Western countries.
Previously, selling products on TikTok involved directing users to click links which would navigate them to the corresponding retailer’s website. With these new features, product overviews and purchase flow options will be made available directly within the app, allowing for a faster and more streamlined shopping experience.
Merchants can sync their product catalog with the TikTok Shop ecommerce feature through the platform’s dedicated Seller Centre, and will be offered a 0% referral fee for their first 90 days.
This is a clear indication that TikTok is determined to popularise live shopping in the West. Facebook research has revealed that 55% of Gen Z and 62% of millennials would purchase products in-stream, which suggests that there is a market for it. Whether it will truly be a success, however, remains to be seen.
How will this affect affiliate marketers? The key here is streamlining the purchasing process. Rather than directing customers through links to third-party websites, live stream shopping will allow for far more direct sales which has the potential to significantly boost conversion rates.
For affiliate program managers, leveraging influencer partnerships will be vital for taking advantage of the opportunities live shopping can offer. The huge viewer numbers on platforms like TikTok means affiliates can target vast consumer groups, and there is the potential for passive income generation through replayable video content that still contains affiliate links and products.
