TikTok Shop: a marketplace in disguise?

TikTok has 750 million monthly users and claims that two-thirds of them are likely to buy something while using the app. Given the #TikTokMadeMeBuyIt hashtag has over 50 billion views (six times the world population), the world’s third largest social media company may have a point. 

Like most social media giants, TikTok has traditionally been more of a ‘product promoter’ than ‘product seller’, but with the latest in-app purchasing developments and new logistics services, TikTok’s primary shopping feature in the UK - TikTok Shop - is rapidly morphing into an online marketplace. 

Here’s a quick lowdown of what you need to know. 

Is TikTok Shop a new online marketplace?

As the saying goes: if it looks like a duck, swims like a duck and quacks like a duck, then it’s probably a duck. 

TikTok Shop describes itself as an ‘e-commerce solution’, but it shares many of the hallmarks of an online marketplace. Brands can:

• Showcase their products on the TikTok platform.
• Sell their products directly through the app (no need to redirect to partner apps or websites).
• Use Fulfilled By TikTok (FBT) to get products to the end customer. 
• Take advantage of TikTok’s in-built promotion tools. 
• Track performance and analyse key customer data through TikTok’s data dashboard. 

So far, so marketplace, but TikTok Shop also combines elements of its video-sharing app with online marketplace functionality. For example, TikTok Shop allows you to tag products in TikTok videos, so you don’t have to rely on organic searching. This also enables you to collaborate with content creators to advertise your products to your target audience (TikTok even matches brands with relevant content creators as part of its promotion tools). 

How to Sell on TikTok Shop

Getting Started

To sign up, you need to be located in the UK (although there are rumours of an imminent US launch). 

1. Register as a merchant in the TikTok Seller Center by uploading mandatory documents and awaiting TikTok approval (2-3 days). 
2. Optimise your listings to ensure product titles include key information (i.e. features, materials) and are listed in the right product category. 
3. Manage your ‘shop’, including promotional preferences, inventory and orders, in the Seller Center.

Selling on TikTok

On TikTok Shop, there are three main ways to sell:

1. Videos - Create standard TikTok-style videos, but include product links and a shopping basket icon in the corner. 
2. Live - Host a live stream to highlight a product (i.e. make-up) and sell directly to viewers in real-time.
3. Product tab - List all of your products in a catalogue for viewers to browse and purchase as part of your seller profile (or creator’s profile if collaborating with a TikTok star). 

*TikTok Shop doesn’t charge set-up fees, but takes a 5% commission on products sold (1.8% for the first 90 days). 

Fulfilled by TikTok

In its biggest ‘marketplace move’, TikTok Shop UK launched Fulfilled By TikTok (FBT) in August 2023. Like the Amazon FBA equivalent, FBT will “store, pick, pack and ship merchant goods to the end customer” - although FBT is run by a third-party logistics company, rather than in-house.  

According to TikToK, the move into fulfilment was fuelled by sellers being overwhelmed by demand after advertising on the platform with small businesses unable to keep up with a tidal wave of new orders. 

For more information on FBT’s operations, rates and benefits, check out the FBT portal. 

Will TikTok transform in to a real marketplace?

As you can see, TikTok Shop already operates like a marketplace in many ways, but further developments could expand TikTok’s marketplace evolution. In the US, for instance, TikTok has been signing contracts with logistics firms and is looking to set up a distinct marketplace store which sells both its own and branded products. Watch this space. 

Thinking of selling on TikTok Shop? Check out our guide on choosing the right global marketplaces for your brand.