London: Best known for viral dance trends and reviving forgotten songs, TikTok is now gaining serious ground as an online retail platform through TikTok Shop, which is rapidly becoming a major force in UK e-commerce.
Major retailers, including Marks & Spencer, Samsung, QVC, Clarks, and Sainsbury’s, are selling products via TikTok Shop, alongside more than 200,000 UK small and medium-sized businesses that are using the platform to reach new customers and drive sales.
Since the launch of TikTok Shop in the UK in 2021, the service has grown quickly. It recorded its biggest-ever UK sales day on Black Friday, with 27 items sold every second. Across the Black Friday and Cyber Monday period, TikTok Shop sales increased by 50 percent compared with the same period last year.
TikTok Shop allows brands to sell directly within the app through short-form videos and livestreams featuring embedded purchase links, as well as via a dedicated shop tab on brand profiles.
Brands can promote their own products or work with influencers who use affiliate links to sell items. Customers complete their purchases without leaving the app, with revenue shared between TikTok, the seller, and any creators involved.
Sainsbury’s, one of the first major supermarkets to join TikTok Shop, has seen strong results. Its Tu Christmas pyjamas sold out in under a week after a sponsored collaboration with influencer Rachel Spicer generated 6.6 million views on TikTok Shop.
Marks & Spencer has also reported success through TikTok Shop livestreams, with one recent broadcast attracting 260,000 viewers and generating sales at a rate of around one item every 30 seconds.
Smaller businesses are increasingly turning to TikTok Shop to expand their reach, particularly as artificial intelligence is making it harder to appear prominently in traditional search results. The Fat Butcher, an online meat delivery company based in Newcastle, is selling fresh turkeys on TikTok Shop for the first time this year.
According to Danielle Dullaghan, social strategy director at global marketing agency Iris, “beauty brands in particular are seeing strong commercial returns” through TikTok Shop, adding that the platform works well because “it plays directly into impulse buying behaviour.”
London-based jewellery brand L’ERA, run by Lara Mar and her daughters Talia Mar and Angele Sofia, is expected to generate about £145,000 in revenue via TikTok Shop this year. “It has almost doubled year on year, and many of our online customers originally discovered us via TikTok,” Mar says.
The brand relies heavily on TikTok Shop live shopping, typically hosting three three-hour livestreams each week, increasing to six during the Black Friday and Christmas periods. Shoppers on TikTok Shop have also shown a willingness to spend, with L’ERA’s largest single order on the platform exceeding £1,400. However, some industry experts have warned of challenges associated with TikTok Shop.
Business and social media consultant Jules Brim stated that, “TikTok Shop has exploded, and for some small brands it’s been a game-changer in terms of reach and sales. But what we don’t talk about enough is the cost. It can create a race to the bottom on pricing, put pressure on small businesses to produce constant content, and shift the focus from brand building to chasing trends.”
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