Shopify Brings eCommerce to TikTok

For years now many have speculated about who will be the first to truly master a true social eCommerce integration. Would it be Facebook Marketplace, Instagram Shoppable posts or something else entirely?

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Well today two giants in the form of Shopify and TikTok have announced a new global partnership aimed at allowing Shopify merchants to reach TikTok’s younger audience.

To begin with, the agreement means that Shopify merchants will be able to create, run and optimize TikTok marketing campaigns directly from the Shopify dashboard by installing the new TikTok channel app from the Shopify App Store. When it is installed, merchants will have access to the key functions from the TikTok For Business Ads Manager at their disposal.

The TikTok ad tools allow merchants to create native, shareable content that turns their products into In-Feed video ads that will hopefully resonate with the TikTok community.

As expected Shopify Merchants will be able to target their audiences across gender, age, behavior, and video category, as well as track the campaign’s performance over time. The campaigns’ costs will vary, based on the merchant’s own business objectives and how much they want to spend.

Shopify merchants will also be able to install or connect their “TikTok Pixel” which is a tool that helps them to more easily track conversions driven by their TikTok ad campaigns.

“We’re thrilled to be the first partner to welcome TikTok to the world of commerce, particularly right now, as our merchants prepare for a busy online holiday shopping season,”

“TikTok is one of the world’s fastest growing entertainment platforms with over 100 million highly engaged users in the US alone. The TikTok channel means Shopify merchants—even those without a strong TikTok following of their own yet—can connect with these new audiences using content that feels authentic and genuine to the TikTok experience.”

Satish Kanwar, Vice President of Product at Shopify

“We are delighted to partner with Shopify and provide a channel for their merchants to reach new audiences and drive sales on TikTok. As social commerce proliferates, retailers are recognizing that TikTok’s creative and highly engaged community sets it apart from other platforms. We’re constantly exploring new and innovative ways to connect brands with our users, and Shopify is the perfect partner to help us grow and expand our commerce capabilities globally.”

Blake Chandlee, Vice President, Global Business Solutions at TikTok

The TikTok channel is currently available in the US, and will be rolled out in other select markets throughout North America, Europe and Southeast Asia in early 2021. To learn more about the TikTok channel, visit apps.shopify.com/tiktok. Click here to see the original press release from Shopify.

What Happened To The TikTok Ban?

The one big question we still have is what happens if the US goes ahead and bans TikTok?

Will all of this development have been for nothing?

Obviously with the election coming up there is a lot of uncertainty around the presidency right now, however in a report from only a couple of days ago, it was confirmed that the president would have the power and authority to ban TikTok in the US over national security concerns.

With so much uncertainty still surrounding the Chinese owned app, are Shopify merchants potentially giving business data to the Chinese too with this partnership?

At this stage we don’t know but we will be keeping out eye on how this develops over the coming weeks and months.