Complete Guide to TikTok Shop: Everything You Need to Know 

TikTok is shaking up social commerce, merging entertainment with shopping in a fun and incredibly effective way. With over 2.7 billion downloads worldwide, TikTok has become the go-to hotspot for discovering new products through viral trends like #TikTokMadeMeBuyIt. Now, with TikTok Shop, businesses can seamlessly sell products through live streams, and product showcases, all within the app.

If you haven't set up shop on TikTok, now's the time! With 61% of users discovering new brands and 71.2% making instant purchases, it’s a key platform for social commerce. 

In this complete guide, we'll cover everything you need to know about TikTok Shop, including how to set up your shop, its features, and tips for success.

What is the TikTok Shop?

TikTok Shop is an in-app feature that lets businesses sell products directly through the platform. It blends social content with shopping, making it easy for users to discover and buy products from their favourite creators and brands. The shop can be accessed through the Shopping Tab on a creator’s profile, via Product Tags in videos, or by tapping on products showcased during a live stream.

With TikTok Shop, your account essentially becomes a virtual storefront where you can showcase products through videos, live streams, and a dedicated product tab. The best part? You can tag products directly in your content, letting users browse and buy instantly with just a few taps. This seamless, interactive experience turns casual viewers into customers in real time, making TikTok a powerful tool for eCommerce.

Why use the TikTok Shop for your business?

TikTok isn't just for Gen Zers and dance challenges. With over 1 billion monthly active users, TikTok has a huge and diverse audience that spans all ages, interests, and locations. This means someone on TikTok will care enough about your products to hit that buy button.

• Thanks to viral trends like #TikTokMadeMeBuyIt, 20.6% of frequent social shoppers make purchases after spotting products on TikTok—surpassing both YouTube and Instagram in driving impulse buys​.
• Its seamless in-app shopping experience lets users buy directly from videos, leading to impulse purchases. In fact, 67% of TikTok users feel inspired to shop even when they weren't looking to do so​.
• Influencer marketing on TikTok is powerful, with 62% of users saying that creator partnerships are the best way for brands to connect​.
• TikTok’s algorithm tailors product recommendations to users, helping you target audiences most likely to purchase from you.
• Shop owners are given insights like views, clicks, and conversion rates, all necessary to fine-tune their marketing efforts​.
• The platform’s creative tools, like filters and trending music, let you create fun and engaging content that grabs users' attention and encourages them to interact​.

Who Can Use the TikTok Shop?

TikTok Shop is available in several countries, including the US, UK, and China, and is ideal for the following groups:

• Sellers: These are businesses, from small shops to major retailers, that want to sell products directly to TikTok’s audience. Whether you’re a small business or a larger brand, TikTok Shop allows you to reach potential customers through the platform’s interactive features.
• Creators: TikTok creators can also participate by promoting products they love. Creators earn through commissions on sales, affiliate programs, or brand partnerships, with payments processed within the app. To qualify, creators must meet certain criteria, such as having a minimum number of followers and video views.

Whether you're a seller or a creator, TikTok Shop offers various tools to create a more engaging and seamless shopping experience for your audience.

How to Set Up Your TikTok Shop

Let's go through the steps of setting up your own TikTok Shop:

Step 1: Register for TikTok Shop

Head to the TikTok Seller Center, pick your region, and start your registration. You can use personal info or register under an LLC, but even with an LLC, TikTok still needs personal verification (name, address, and the last four of your Social).

You’ll need to upload documents like proof of identity, residency, and tax forms. Using personal information tends to speed up approval. TikTok usually responds within 1-2 days. Once approved, you can set up tax information and shipping and link your TikTok page.

Step 2: (Optional) Connect Your Online Store

If you’re already using an eCommerce platform like Shopify or BigCommerce, you can easily connect it to TikTok Shop via the TikTok for Shopify app. This integration syncs your products and inventory across both platforms, providing a smoother selling experience.

Step 3: Set Up Shipping Options

Once your account is approved, you can set up your shipping preferences in the TikTok Seller Center. Depending on your business needs, you can either handle shipping yourself with Seller Shipping or choose TikTok’s warehouse distribution services.

Step 4: Upload Your Products

You can now start uploading products directly in the TikTok Seller Center or via your eCommerce platforms like Shopify and WooCommerce, making inventory management seamless across both platforms.

Head to the “Add Products” tab, and choose between the following options: 

• Manual Upload: Enter your product details, including title, description, images, and price.
• Bulk Upload: For larger inventories, use the Batch Tool. Download TikTok’s spreadsheet template, fill in your product details, and upload the file to import everything in bulk at once.

Step 5: Customise Your Store Design

With your products uploaded, you'll want to ensure your TikTok shop reflects your brand.

Head to the "Store Design" section and start personalising your shop’s layout, homepage, and product displays to align with your branding.

You can use a default template or create a custom design, which includes editing features like banners, categories, and featured products. During this process, you can preview how your shop will look to customers as you make changes, ensuring it looks great and is easy to navigate.

When you're happy with your design, simply click "Publish" to make it live and ready for your customers to explore.

Step 6: Start Promoting Your Shop

With TikTok Shop live, it’s time to drive traffic and start making sales. TikTok provides several powerful tools to help you promote your store and products:

• TikTok Ads: Use TikTok's ad platform to create targeted campaigns that reach your ideal audience. You can run in-feed, spark, or even collection ads that drive traffic directly to your shop.
• Influencer Collaborations: Partnering with TikTok creators who align with your niche can showcase your products and tap into a wider audience. Creators can help you build trust and excitement around your brand.
• Hashtag Challenges: Launch a branded hashtag challenge to encourage user-generated content. This can help your products go viral as users participate by creating videos featuring your brand, boosting visibility organically.

These promotional strategies will help attract attention to your shop, build brand awareness, and drive sales.

How TikTok Users Can Discover Your TikTok Shop

Live Streams

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TikTok Live Streams give sellers a fun, interactive way to showcase products in real time. You can answer questions, demo features, and highlight items using Product Tags, letting viewers add products to their cart on the stream. It’s a great way to entertain and sell at the same time.

You can also boost visibility with Live Shopping Ads, which promote your live streams to a larger, more targeted audience. This combo of real-time engagement, product tagging, and paid promotion often leads to quick, impulse purchases, making it a powerful tool for driving sales on TikTok.

Shoppable Videos

Shoppable videos are short, organic TikTok videos with clickable product tags that allow users to purchase them. To create a shoppable video, record your content as usual, then select Add Link and connect it to your product. If you’re using TikTok Shop, this will take users to your product page within the app. If not, you can link to your external eCommerce store.

These work well for product tutorials, unboxings, and reviews. But get creative! Try incorporating your products into a dance challenge, comedy skits, or other fun content that would resonate with your target audience.

Store Page

Sellers can add a shopping tab or bag icon to their TikTok profile, directing users to their curated product pages within the TikTok shop. This store page can showcase collections like new arrivals, best sellers, or custom selections tailored to specific audiences. It offers a clear and organised way for users to browse products, creating a simple and seamless shopping experience.

Shop Tab

Launched in 2023, the shop tab feature lets users browse through various branded products within an in-app catalogue. Once you've set up shop, your products will then be included in this marketplace, allowing for massive visibility.

TikTok Shop Tools for Sellers

Merchants have access to a wide range of tools and features on TikTok Shop to help them succeed. These include:

TikTok Creator Marketplace

The TikTok Creator Marketplace (TTCM) helps brands tap into influencer marketing without the hassle of finding creators independently. TTCM acts as a bridge, connecting merchants with vetted TikTok creators who can help promote their products. Every time you see an influencer plug a product on TikTok, there's a high chance the collaboration was initiated through TTCM.

TikTok Creative Exchange

The TikTok Creative Exchange is an efficient platform for brands looking to scale their TikTok content. It connects businesses with creative vendors specialising in making engaging, native-style content, ensuring your brand's presence on TikTok remains current and relevant. 

The platform simplifies the creative process, from selecting the right partner to integrating the final content into TikTok Ads Manager for seamless campaign deployment. With its focus on fast, scalable content production, TikTok Creative Exchange helps brands maintain a steady stream of high-quality, attention-grabbing ads, allowing businesses to focus on strategy while leaving creative production in expert hands.

TikTok Creative Centre

The TikTok Creative Centre is an online hub providing a wealth of resources, including competitor ads to gain inspiration, trending data, and analytic product insights for specific industries. It also features a video editing tool and a library of templates, helping brands to create professional, yet unique content for their campaigns.

To learn more, read our article on How to Use TikTok Creative Centre for your business. 

TikTok Shop Academy

TikTok offers the TikTok Shop Academy, a free educational platform designed to empower TikTok sellers and content creators. The academy provides users with in-depth lessons on how to use TikTok's tools and features effectively and tips for creating great content.

The training courses cover various topics, such as advertising strategies, content creation techniques, and utilising data insights from the platform. By completing these courses, businesses can better understand how to effectively leverage TikTok's unique algorithm and reach their target audience.

Best Practises to Grow Your TikTok Shop

Think Like a Content Creator, not a Salesperson

When creating shoppable organic videos, remember that TikTok is primarily an entertainment platform. To capture attention, focus on making your content fun, creative, and engaging. Incorporate humor, popular music, or trends to showcase your products in an entertaining way.

User-generated content (UGC) can be especially effective here. UGC feels authentic and relatable, which helps build trust with your audience. In fact, 71.2% of TikTok shoppers say they’re more likely to make a purchase when they discover a product organically in their feed or Stories.

To elevate your UGC game, explore how top creators are doing it by searching UGC on MagicBrief. Here, you'll find curated content in your industry that can provide inspiration for your own videos. Discover what works and what doesn't, then tailor it to your brand's unique style.

Optimise Your Product Catalogue for TikTok

Every platform has its own way of delivering relevant content, and TikTok is no different. To boost visibility, it’s important to optimise your product catalogue specifically for TikTok’s audience. This means using high-quality images, crafting clear, keyword-rich titles, and keeping your descriptions detailed but concise. Doing this helps your products rank higher in searches, making it easier for potential buyers to find and purchase them.

Feature Products that Actually Sell

Sometimes, storefronts  end up with a lot of products that just don’t move. In TikTok Shop, promoting these items on your storefront can actually do more harm than good. Instead, focus on featuring your best selling or products that actually have a proven demand or a unique value proposition.

To find out products are trending in your space, you can check the top products tab in the TikTok Creative Centre. Here, you can filter products by category and country, giving you insights into which products are popular and performing well on the platform.

Collaborate with Influencers

TikTok is an influencer-driven platform, and collaborating with popular creators can instantly expose your brand to their audience. By partnering with influencers who have a similar target audience as your brand, you not only increase the reach of your videos but also gain credibility through their endorsement.

To find the right influencer, you can partner with agencies or creative teams that specialise in influencer marketing. TikTok Shop’s Partner Listings make it easy to find professionals who can help you choose the right influencers and target the ideal audience for your brand. Just apply the filters to match your specific needs.

What Not to Do on TikTok Shop

Not selecting the right category: Listing products in the correct category helps customers find them and avoids potential violations. Mis-categorisation can harm your visibility and lead to penalties.

Price spamming: Frequently changing prices can damage customer trust and negatively impact your TikTok rankings. Stick to consistent pricing to avoid confusion, and build credibility.

Misleading or confusing product titles: Use clear and concise titles that best describe your product. Make the most of the 34 characters before TikTok cuts off your title.

Vague or messy descriptions: Like your titles, your product descriptions should be clear, concise, and accurate.  Use keywords that will help customers find your products, and avoid any misleading or confusing information.

Bad product images: Use high-quality images that clearly represent your product. TikTok Shop requires images to be at least 600x600 pixels, with the product occupying at least 60% of the frame.

Exaggerated promises: Avoid making claims like “the best product” or “guaranteed results” unless you can back them up with evidence. Stick to realistic, verifiable descriptions to build trust and avoid penalties.

Click-bait tactics: TikTok Shop discourages the use of misleading listings or deceptive pricing to attract clicks. The last thing you need is a dissatisfied customer leaving a negative review.

Unsafe or poor-quality products: All products on sale must meet safety standards and comply with local laws. Selling unsafe or poor-quality goods can result in penalties or removal from TikTok Shop.

By avoiding these mistakes, you’ll be compliant with TikTok’s guidelines and create a trustworthy, successful shop. For more details, refer to the TikTok Shop Product Listing Guidelines.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I create a TikTok Shop account?

To create and sell your own merchandise on TikTok Shop, you must be located in Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, the United Kingdom, the United States, and Vietnam. You'll also need to provide documents to verify your business, banking information, and a valid phone number and email address.

What are the best products to sell on TikTok?

The best products to sell on TikTok often come from categories that generate high engagement, conversions, and click-through rates (CTR). Here are some top-selling product categories along with their performance metrics:

Beauty products:

• Skincare: Impressions: 3B, CTR: 0.74%, Conversion rate: 8.07%
• Makeup: Impressions: 3B, CTR: 0.89%, Conversion rate: 9.57%

Household items:

• Cleaning products: Impressions: 902M, CTR: 0.26%, Conversion rate: 8.91%
• Indoor lighting (LED Strip Lights, Star Projectors): Impressions: 46M, CTR: 2.73%, Conversion rate: 5.03%

Fashion:

• T-shirts: Impressions: 254M, CTR: 2.44%, Conversion rate: 5.9%
• Leggings: Impressions: 117M, CTR: 2.18%, Conversion rate: 7.69%

Hair Care products:

• Hair & scalp treatments: Impressions: 701M, CTR: 0.65%, Conversion rate: 7.67%
• Hair styling tools: Impressions: 2B, CTR: 0.75%, Conversion rate: 6.53%

Snacks:

• Snacks: Impressions: 2B, CTR: 0.32%, Conversion rate: 4.31%
• Drinks: Impressions: 2B, CTR: 0.5%, Conversion rate: 2.33%

These performance metrics highlight how viral content and influencer-driven marketing on TikTok can lead to significant engagement and sales for these products.

How do I get paid through TikTok Shop?

Payments are processed directly through TikTok Shop and are transferred to your linked bank account. Typically, it takes around 15 days after a product is delivered for the payment to be processed. This delay accounts for potential returns, exchanges, or cancelled orders, ensuring that any adjustments are made before your earnings are finalised.

Can I sell internationally on TikTok Shop?

Depending on your country and business registration, you may be able to sell to customers in other countries where TikTok Shop is available. Be sure to review the platform’s international shipping requirements and potential additional fees.

Can I offer discounts and promotions on TikTok Shop?

Yes, TikTok Shop allows sellers to run promotions, offer discounts, and use coupon codes to attract more buyers. These can be set up in the TikTok Seller Center under the "Promotions" section.

How can I promote my products with TikTok Shop?

Even with a TikTok shop, your products won't sell themselves. To effectively promote your products, you can do the following:

• Create highly engaging organic videos that best showcase your products. Experiment with  different formats such as product demos, tutorials, and user-generated content.
• Collaborate with platform influencers who have a strong following in your target audience. They can create promotional videos that reach a large audience and boost your product sales.
• Utilise TikTok's paid advertising options such as in-feed ads, branded hashtags, and branded effects to reach a wider audience and increase brand awareness.
• Leverage user-generated content by encouraging customers to post videos featuring your products. This creates social proof and can drive more sales.
• Include a link to your product catalogue in your TikTok bio to make it easy for viewers to access and purchase your products.

Unlock TikTok Ad Success with MagicBrief

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MagicBrief offers the world’s largest ad library, featuring over 10 million ads from more than 30,000 brands. Updated hourly, it’s the ultimate resource for discovering what’s working on TikTok and beyond. Whether you’re looking for viral ad inspiration or analysing your competitors’ TikTok strategies, MagicBrief provides everything you need to stay ahead.

With AI-powered search and filters, you can easily find TikTok ads by format, creative theme, or even specific ad copy and transcripts. Explore curated Ad Packs that feature best-in-class TikTok ad examples by industry or concept, and keep tabs on competitors with Brand Tracking to see the latest TikTok campaigns they’re running.

Sign up for MagicBrief today, and have access to all the tools you need to create compelling TikTok content and ads that drive results!

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