TikTok just announced a new global partnership with Shopify, the aim of which is to provide convenience for Shopify’s over 1 million merchants to reach TikTok’s younger audience and drive sales. The companies have also revealed that other in-app shopping features will also become part of the partnership in the future.
The partnership agreement would allow Shopify customers to create, run, and optimize their TikTok marketing campaigns directly from the Shopify dashboard. Merchants will be able to do so by simply installing the new TikTok channel app for the Shopify App store. This will give them access to the key functions from the TikTok for Business Ads Manager at their disposal.
The Shopify ad tools would let merchants create shareable content in the form of in-feed video ads of their products that would attract the TikTok community. Specifically designed ad templates will be provided to create the video ads. Audiences can be targeted across gender, age, user behavior, and video category. The campaign’s performance over time would also be trackable.
Merchants would also be able to track user actions, such as browsing of their page, registration on a website, items being added to the cart, order placements, and payment completions. These features are accessible to all merchants across the U.S.
The cost of the campaigns would vary on the basis of the merchants’ business objectives and the amount they want to spend. Merchants will be offered a $300 ad credit to get started with their first TikTok campaign.
Moreover, merchants can also connect a separate tool Shopify Pixel, through which they can easily track conversions driven by their TikTok ad campaigns.
“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,” said Vice President of Product at Shopify Satish Kanwar, in a statement about the new partnership.
Before the launch of this new partnership, TikTok and Shopify had been working on other things as well, like a new shopping button to enable creators to link their Shopify storefront from their videos, or the TikTok Ads Pixel.
Blake Chandlee, Vice President Global Business Solutions at TikTok said that “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,”, in a statement about the new partnership.
Regarding the other in-app features that TikTok plans to start testing for Shopify merchants, a TikTok spokesperson said that the service would let users browse merchants’ products and shop directly through the TikTok app. Other specific details about the features were not revealed, however, except that they will be launched to a limited number of beta testers in the near future.
This TikTok-Shopify partnership would make TikTok a better competitor against other social commerce services, including those offered by Facebook and its apps including Instagram and WhatsApp. TikTok has more advantage over these apps as it is solely a video-based social platform unlike, for instance, Instagram that has been overcrowded with a bunch of features like feed posts, stories, lives, Reels, and IGTV.
TikTok plans to roll out the new TikTok channel for Shopify merchants outside of the U.S. next year.
