Social Commerce: 3 Things TikTok Shop Might Learn from Douyin Shop

Last year, Douyin (TikTok's Chinese counterpart) set up its e-commerce function, opening doors for brands to generate revenue and grow their customer base. Following that, TikTok announced the launch of TikTok shop in a few trial markets this year, including Singapore.

With a booming audience of over 300 million active users in 2021, TikTok Shop has the potential to go beyond entertainment, to being a shopping destination. This is great news for brands looking to tap on social commerce – the next big thing that will bring more simplicity and convenience to avid social media users.

As TikTok often follows in the footsteps of Douyin, we look to Douyin to explore the shopping features that are worth paying attention to.

#1 "My Footsteps" Page

What it is: A page that keeps track of one's browsing history, with details on when the user came across each post.

Apart from being an easy reference for users, the "My Footsteps" page uses the data to recommend similar products to the consumer's explore page. Going one step further, it also recommends similar shops to consumers. This increases brand exposure toward highly targeted consumers, which can translate into higher sales revenue.

#2 Livestream Snippets

What it is: Recorded snippets of live streams where products are introduced

Livestreams encourage the building of a personal connection between a brand and its consumers, by allowing them to see the faces of the brand and its products in an authentic way. However, it can be a hassle to scrub through the live stream after it's over, just to see a short snippet of a featured product.

Making snippets of recorded live streams solves this problem. With these snippets being available, the personal connection with the consumers doesn't just end after the live stream.

Apart from making it easy to view these snippets again, they can also be repurposed as content in potential marketing campaigns, which then continue to gather views and traffic to the product, building a wider consumer base.

#3 Item Popularity Ratings

What it is: Highlighting useful popularity ratings to help users get a better sense of how trusted the brand/shop is

Under each product featured on the explore page, consumers can see how many people have saved and repurchased the product, which reflects the popularity of the item and the credibility of the seller.

Using social proof makes this a valuable tool to differentiate brands from one another and boost their credibility, as discerning consumers are generally reliant on others' opinions when making purchase decisions.

Conclusion

TikTok Shop is still in its infancy stage. While we may expect TikTok Shop to be different from Douyin, we are looking forward to seeing the opportunities that this new e-commerce function can bring to brands. What do you hope to see on TikTok shop?

About the writer        

Written by Charmaine Soh. Charmaine is a 10, but gets grumpy and can't function if she doesn't start the day with a cup of coffee.

Information is accurate as of 27 July 2022.