Fast growing social media site TikTok is making a further foray into ecommerce with two live stream shopping events starting at 5pm on 8 and 9 December.
Called OnTrend, the event is described by TikTok as “a unique shopping event that will feature offers and exclusive discounts by beauty and tech brands like Charlotte Tilbury, L’Oreal Paris and Nutri Bullet” will also feature a range of live entertainment from popular TikTok creators, entertainers and musicians.
Hosted by TV’s Rylan Clark-Neal, and featuring a host of other amazing names including the original diva Gemma Collins, we’ve got an all-star line-up that has been especially curated for you to make online shopping fun and entertaining again.
Covering everything from beauty, fashion, nutrition and tech, we have prepared a jam-packed schedule of LIVE events featuring your favourite brand and creators, such as Nikki Lilly, Kirsty Belle and you1stlondon. With products for sale from brands including as Charlotte Tilbury, LOOKFANTASTIC, L’Oréal Paris, Nutri Bullet, and many more popular beauty and tech products, you’ve got a chance to get your holiday shopping (or even a little treat for yourself) in the bag over the next two days.
No holiday event – or TikTok video – will be complete without music, and On Trend is no different. We’re bringing you special performances by singer-songwriters and prolific TikTok creators Wes Nelson and Sam Ryder, who have each grown huge fan bases in our community.
For an added twist, Guinness World Records is getting involved with a fun challenge for Gemma Collins to get stuck into, and the event will be brought to a close with a special LADbible quiz.
TikTok says in a statement that “By combining the creative, entertaining content TikTok is known for with the biggest names and TikTok creators, we are creating a new kind of shopping experience that brings together all your favourite parts of discovering and buying new products, with a distinct TikTok twist”.
What makes the event unique for TikTok is that the whole process from discovery to payment now takes place within TikTok. Previously, the social site had trialed social shopping with Shopify, but that was a different process. Here everything works within the platform.
Rich Waterworth, TikTok General Manager, UK and EU, told the BBC: “We think it’s a really significant moment. Ecommerce is a big opportunity for TikTok and it’s something we’re investing in significantly.People who have a shared interest or a shared love for a creator or a product area, these communities come together and make the experience of finding and enjoying those products more interesting.”
Past efforts
TikTok has been working in social commerce for some months. The site has already trialled live streamed shopping events on Black Friday weekend and is now letting viewers watch online content and shop at the same time. TikTok takes a cut of the sales.
TikTok has grown rapidly in the last five years, hitting 1 billion subscribers in record time. The site, famed for letting people share lip synching and other short form videos has long harboured a desire to tap into the ecommerce on social media and is now looking to bring its large audience and this burgeoning social commerce world together.
TikTok has seen a marked up-tick in social shopping over the pandemic, with its audience getting older and more likely to involve families. The social site trialled a different approach to ecommerce with a pilot with Shopify in August that allowed a limited number of retailers to sell on the site as a trial.
Back then Irish athleisure brand Gym & Coffee, which has UK shops in Belfast, London and Manchester, was involved in the beta testing for this pilot. Diarmuid McSweeney, co-founder and chief marketing and community officer at Gym + Coffee, says of the earlier Shopify trial: “Since launching in 2017, we’ve seen phenomenal 300% year on year growth and social commerce has played a big role in helping us to achieve that. TT Shopping will enable us to increase brand awareness of Gym+Coffee and engage with our customers on a platform we know they love to use. The strength of our brand lies in our community and the new storefronts feature will mean we can connect more authentically with both new and existing customers.”
Commenting on the earlier trial, Megan Leedy Jones, VP of marketing and partner at January Digital,says: “TikTok and Shopify’s partnership now enables in-app shopping features, like what already exists on Instagram and Facebook. It’s a smart move on TikTok’s behalf, given the opportunity brands have to provide direct commerce channels after a viral social media moment. A recent example is #BamaRush earlier this month, a brand name-dropping trend that garnered visibility for the likes of Kendra Scott and Dolce Vita.
“This new in-app shopping ability on TikTok is a reminder to brands that if they are looking to connect with particular customer demographics such as Gen-Z, they need to ensure their digital strategy incorporates a social commerce component. These trends showcase that brands cannot possibly create a long-term customer engagement strategy if they are not meeting them on the platform of their choice. Brands who are already capitalising on these capabilities are not thriving by coincidence; they’ve prepared for it and they’ve researched this consumer. And most importantly, they’ve put forth and invested in a strategy that thrives in this sort of environment.”
