TikTok will be entering the e-commerce market in Spain and Ireland this October, according to TradeSport, which cites reporting by Bloomberg.
TikTok Shop, as the service is called, entered the US market in September of last year. There, as elsewhere, it enters into competition with YouTube, which has a shopping service of its own. As the American press release puts it, TikTok Shop has a seven-part offering:
- In-feed video and live shopping (i.e., shopping during vendor live streams)
- Product showcases that vendors or brands can curate on their profile page
- A “shop” tab to display products and promotions and under which customers can find recommendations and “shoppable content” or manage orders
- An affiliate program through which video posters can earn commissions
- Shop Ads
- Fulfillment by TikTok (storage, picking, packing and shipping of merchandise)
- Secure checkout (through “trusted third party payment platforms,” with “all TikTok-protected US user data “stored in the US and managed by USDS”)
In addition, TikTok Shop can connect with commerce platforms (WooCommerce, Salesforce, AfterShip, et al.), multi-channel platforms (Feedonomics, ChannelEngine, et al.) and other e-commerce apps (Zendesk, Printful, Eastship, et al.).
TikTok has apparently hired a staff of 40 to set up the platform in Spain and is seeking more Spanish speakers in Madrid and London to handle logistics and strategy. In 2025, once Spain and Ireland are squared away, the service will spread to other European countries. The only European market so far is the UK. TikTok Shop is otherwise operating in the US, in six regions of Asia (Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, the Philippines and Singapore) and in what TikTok calls “Global Selling” in Asia.
Bloomberg speculates that the European plan could expand TikTok’s reach as it works to evade new conflicts with EU authorities – no doubt in connection with the Digital Services Act (DSA).
According to TradeSport, about half a million people were vending on TikTop Shop late last year, more than twice the total from a quarter earlier. Total vendors (brands included, presumably) stood at about 15 million for the same period. The company hopes to reach €50 billion in gross merchandise value for the current year.
TikTok is owned by the Chinese firm ByteDance.
