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TikTok Shop went live in the U.S. on Tuesday, in line with a blog post by the social media company. The move adds an e-commerce element to the favored app and can enable its 150 million U.S.-based users to seek out and shop for products throughout the app. The initiative brings shoppable videos and live streams on to users’ feeds.
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The available in-shop tools include the power for businesses to create custom product collections on their profile page. A store tab allows businesses to display their products and customers can see product recommendations and manage orders inside one tab.
- To support businesses with the launch of in-app e-commerce, the corporate also introduced its TikTok Shop Seller Center app. The separate app includes tools that allow merchants to attach directly from other e-commerce platforms like Shopify. TikTok said it also offers direct integrations to other platforms like Salesforce.
TikTok is the newest social media platform to introduce an e-commerce element. The company quietly began testing its Shop offering late last yr, just ahead of the vacation shopping season, Semafor reported on the time.
TikTok Shop also offers an associates program that permits creators to attach with sellers through a commission-based program. Merchants also can reap the benefits of a logistics solution where TikTok Shop handles product storage, picking, packing and shipping. TikTok said it really works with third-party payment platforms to operate a secure checkout system.
In March, TikTok said it had turn out to be “the popular platform for nearly 5 million businesses.”
The pervasive popularity of the app, especially with Generations Alpha, Z and younger Millennials – people in the young teen to early 30s demographic – has drawn unfavorable attention from local, state and federal officials, who’ve expressed concerns over how the app handles privacy.
TikTok is owned by ByteDance, a Chinese-based company. More than half of U.S. states currently restrict or ban the app from government-owned digital devices. TikTok also faces federal investigations over its privacy practices.
TikTok said all U.S. user data and payment information is stored and managed in accordance with American laws and policies. “From discovery to buy, TikTok is committed to providing a secure and secure environment that permits our community to buy with confidence,” the corporate said.
“In addition, all product listings must adhere to TikTok Shop policies and Community Guidelines,” the corporate said. “We use a mixture of technology and manual moderation to implement our policies and can remove merchants and products we discover break our rules.”
Despite the legal concerns, 75% of U.S. marketers expected to extend their spending on TikTok in the following 12 months, in line with a survey conducted this spring by Capterra, sister publication Marketing Dive reported. Eight-seven percent of those surveyed said they believed TikTok is a viable platform for long-term marketing.
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