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TikTok, TalkShopLive to launch live shopping in the US

Tuesday 4 October 2022 11:39 CET | News

China-based social media platform TikTok is due to enter a partnership with TalkShopLive to launch TikTok Shop in the US.

 

The companies are yet to finalise the necessary arrangements, with no contract having been signed as of now.

TalkShopLive will provide the necessary technology and support required for live streams hosted by influencers, brands, and retailers that are looking to sell their products on the platform.

TikTok Shop gives users the option of buying products through links on the screen of the app during live broadcasts. It is available in Thailand, Malaysia, Vietnam, Singapore, the Philippines, and Indonesia, and was launched in the UK in 2021, making it the first market on the platform available outside of Asia.

The model has been proved to be lucrative on Douyin, TikTok’s sister app available in China, with sales tripling in one year, having hosted approximately 9 million ecommerce monthly broadcasts since implementation, with more than 10 billion products having been sold.

The developments come at a moment where TikTok is facing scrutiny, with politicians having expressed concerns on American user data being accessible by Beijing, concerns that were denied by the platform’s Chinese owners, ByteDance. The Biden administration is reviewing former president’s efforts, Donald Trump, to ban the company on national security grounds, while TikTok is working alongside the government on new data security practices to secure user data in the US.

The TikTok Shop feature is expected to launch in November 2022, ahead of the holiday season, with large brands believed to be available. TalkShopLive takes approximately 10% commission on livestream sales, with TikTok being expected to cover these costs initially. The technology will enable brands to simultaneously host the same livestream on their ecommerce websites and drive sales outside of the TikTok platform.

TalkShopLive has four years of experience in live commerce working with clients such as Walmart and Microsoft’s MSN Shopping to provide the technological infrastructure for live shopping.

TikTok is due to enter a partnership with TalkShopLive to launch TikTok Shop in the US.

Previous TikTok expansion plans

TikTok had planned to launch shopping features across Europe earlier in 2022, an initiative that was postponed in July 2022 following the UK market failed experiments to reach sales targets and influencers and brands dropping out of the scheme. Following a Financial Times investigation, the shopping feature in the UK faced scrutiny, with most of the ecommerce staff in London quitting due to an aggressive working culture that had unrealistic targets set. The social media platform has previously denied the existence of any formal expansion plans in Europe and the US.

Live shopping developments

Global social media platform Meta, owner of Facebook and Instagram, as well as YouTube, have both experimented with live shopping features in the past years, its success being limited. In August 2022, Meta announced that they will shut down the live shopping feature on Facebook, and focus on further shopping features testing on Instagram.

Source: Link


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Keywords: partnership, ecommerce, livestream shopping, expansion, social commerce, marketplace, online shopping
Categories: Payments & Commerce
Companies: TalkShopLive, TikTok
Countries: United States
This article is part of category

Payments & Commerce

TalkShopLive

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TikTok

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