While Instagram recently announced the end of its “Live Shopping” feature, TikTok continues to push on, activating the Shop tab on profiles of select U.S. retailers including Pacsun, Revolve, Three Little Mingos, KimChi Chic, and Willow Boutique.

By Colin Kirkland, 02/17/23, Digital News Daily.

Activating the shop tab on profiles of U.S. brands means TikTok users can view product details and make purchases in-app without having to visit the retailer’s official website, which is more than convenient for users to shop and the revenues of these brands would be increased.

Why It Captured My Interest?

Has great potential for development.

First of all, more and more brands join TikTok provides that live-stream shopping has a lot of potential for development in America. Although western consumers haven’t reacted to it in the same way, statistics from the Chinese financial website indicates that total e-commerce transactions on the Douyin app(Chinese version of Tiktok) reached roughly RMB 1.41 trillion in 2022, an increase of 76% when compared to 2021. In other words, in U.S., live-stream shopping has a huge potential to become a significant revenue source for social media platforms and e-commerce companies.

Makes use of the popularity of live streaming.

Secondly, more and more companies want to make use of the widespread use of live streaming. When I first watched TikTok live-streaming shopping, I feel it gave me a seamless and engaging shopping experience that increased my interest and passion of purchasing. Compared to traditional online shopping, live-stream shopping has grown in popularity recently and offers a special method for creators to interact in real time with their audience.

Provides more opportunities for people.

Additionally, TikTok has developed into a well-liked platform for producers to display their abilities and build audience. Creators may be able to monetize their content and earn money through affiliate sales or sponsored alliances with businesses by integrating live-stream shopping. More brands on TikTok Livestream implies more employment opportunities.

What is the Value for Marketers

As a marketer, I believe live-stream shopping can boost engagement. During the live stream, you may engage with the audience and make quick product adjustments based on their feedback. Sales and revenue can both be raised in this way.

Secondly, I think we can target younger audience. Marketers trying to reach a younger audience may find TikTok’s massive and engaged user base of younger demographics to be appealing.

Lastly, TikTok live-stream shopping offers authenticity. Live-stream shopping enables businesses and producers to present their goods in a more real and tailored way, which may help them gain the audience’s trust and possibly boost sales.

For Future

It’s obvious that combining social media and eCommerce is a developing trend, and I hold the belief that TikTok will continue to explore and invest in this live-stream shopping in the future.