E-commerce

TikTok piloting in-app shopping with Hype

Photo by istock.com

May 14, 2021

ByteDance Ltd., maker of video app TikTok, is working with at least one U.K. merchant to test in-app sales in the Europe market.

The news comes as social media giants, including Facebook and Instagram, are striving hard and fast to tap into growing number of mobile device consumers and their love of shopping online.

TikTok is running a test with Hype, a streetwear brand, according to a Bloomberg report.

In the Hype pilot, the e-commerce feature is being provided to certain participants and there is no information regarding a formal launch, according to the news report.

"TikTok has been testing and learning with e-commerce offerings and partnerships, and we are constantly exploring new ways" to add value, the company told Bloomberg in an email. "We will provide updates as we explore these important avenues for our community of users, creators and brands."

By integrating e-commerce into its video platform TikTok would have more opportunity to reach consumers, according to eMarketer, which predicts the number of U.S. TikTok users will increase 18.3% this year, hitting a user base of 78.7 million – just under a quarter of the population.

"As marketers become more familiar with the short-video format, all TikTok needs to do now is build out its offerings for marketers—and in-app shopping is a huge step toward that. All of this will make TikTok less of a see-what-happens venture and more of a must-have platform for social media marketers in the years to come," stated the eMarketer report.