Growing Your E-Commerce Brand on TikTok Shop

Reaching new customers is a critical part of e-commerce growth, but it has challenges. You constantly compete for attention and seek that elusive channel to deliver a return on investment (ROI). A promising platform is TikTok Shop—TikTok's native e-commerce feature.

TikTok Shop offers a combination of viral visual content and seamless shopping experience. While the opportunity is significant, brands considering it should prepare to navigate both the new e-commerce marketplace and its dynamic social media platform often populated by a younger audience.

TikTok Shop officially launched in September 2023, marking its entry into the social commerce space already populated by established players. In 2024, even with Instagram Shopping's earlier launch in March 2017 and an estimated global Gross Merchandise Value (GMV) exceeding $37 billion,¹ TikTok Shop has shown remarkable traction with a GMV of $33.2 billion.² Data from 2024 demonstrates TikTok Shop’s swift rise in a short period with 26% of US social shoppers using the platform compared to Instagram Shopping's 21%.³ In 2025, TikTok Shop’s GMV is reportedly at $100 billion.⁴

Repeat conversion on TikTok Shop also appears to be high, with roughly half (49.7%) of its social shoppers making a purchase at least once a month—a higher frequency compared to users on Facebook, Instagram, or Pinterest.⁵

The US market has emerged as one of TikTok Shop’s largest, generating a GMV of around $9 billion² in 2024. Therefore, even if your primary focus is the US market, TikTok Shop is a channel you can't afford to ignore.

Fueling this impressive growth is TikTok's massive and highly engaged user base. With over 1.5 billion active users globally and over 120.5 million in the US alone,⁶ it offers access to a giant pool of potential customers that spans diverse demographics and interests.

Its effectiveness in driving brand growth can be attributed to the following:

1. Shoppertainment and Impulse Buys - TikTok has combined entertainment and commerce, creating a “shoppertainment” space.⁷ Consumers are more receptive to this brand messaging of evoking emotions and fear of missing out (FOMO). A significant portion of users engage in impulse buys, often due to emotional factors and the immediacy of its LIVE shopping events.⁸

2. Influencer Trust - The emphasis on creator-driven content and user-generated content (UGC) builds trust and authenticity.⁷ About 71% of consumers trust recommendations from influencers,⁹ which makes collaborations and UGC powerful drivers of purchase intent on TikTok.

3. Hyper-Personalized Discovery - Its algorithm, known to deliver hyper-personalized content, is driving product discovery at an unprecedented scale. Users are 1.7 times more likely to discover new products on TikTok compared to other social media platforms.¹⁰ This enhanced discoverability naturally feeds into the shopping experience.

4. Seamless In-App Purchase - This experience reduces friction, letting users go from product discovery to purchase without leaving TikTok.⁷ Data suggests that every step removed in the purchasing process can increase conversion.¹¹

These factors can shorten the traditional marketing funnel and create a prime ground for e-commerce growth, which US brands are already witnessing firsthand.

For instance, PacSun, a US retailer focused on youth apparel and accessories, reported that their TikTok Shop sales on Black Friday 2024 alone were 3 times higher than their total Black Friday sales from the previous year.¹² They have also sold nearly half a million pairs of jeans through TikTok livestreaming in just 18 months.¹²

Several other brands have also found strong sales performance on TikTok Shop¹³ as shown in the table below.

Beauty has also been a significant driver with brands like Tarte Cosmetics, One Size, uCoolMe Lashes, and The Ordinary earning over $104 million in revenue combined on the platform.¹⁴

For forward-thinking brands aiming for broader market reach and potential increase in ROI, TikTok Shop is a vital component of an effective marketing and sales strategy.

Understanding the potential of TikTok Shop is just the start. To leverage this platform for sustainable e-commerce growth, you need to learn how to capture fleeting user attention, guide them to your TikTok Shop, and consistently deliver value that transforms one-time viewers into loyal, repeat customers.

Setting Up Your TikTok Shop

Setting up your TikTok Shop is like setting up your storefront in a bustling new marketplace. You want it to be easily accessible, visually appealing, and ready to transact.

To start, you should navigate the TikTok Shop Seller Center. This is your central hub for managing all aspects of your TikTok Shop. The registration process is designed to be user-friendly so you can easily sign up using just your phone number or email.

Your region should be set to the US to proceed with region-specific seller guidelines. Upon signing up, your account will be verified as belonging to a US-based seller.

You can find a step-by-step guide on how to register on TikTok’s website. Just follow the steps and you can start selling your products on the platform.

Once your TikTok Shop is up, you can add products by following this guide.

While TikTok Shop welcomes a wide variety of products, certain categories and product types tend to resonate particularly well with its user base. Visually appealing products, impulse-buy items, and those that lend themselves well to demonstrations or storytelling in short-form video often see strong traction.

Consider how your existing product catalog aligns with these trends and identify hero products that can shine in a video-first environment.

Driving Traffic and Conversions

For your brand to thrive on TikTok Shop, you should know how to convert the attention you get into tangible sales.

Organic Growth

While paid advertising can offer a direct route to visibility, nurturing organic growth on TikTok Shop builds a more sustainable and engaged customer base.

Regularly posting high-quality, entertaining, and informative content keeps your audience engaged and encourages repeat visits to your profile and shop. For instance, a food brand might post daily recipe snippets showcasing ingredients available in their shop, while an apparel brand could share styling tips and outfit ideas featuring their latest collections.

Consistency signals to the algorithm that you're an active and valuable content creator, increasing your chances of appearing on the coveted FYP.

Just like on the broader TikTok platform, relevant and trending hashtags are vital for discoverability on TikTok Shop. Research hashtags specific to your niche, product categories, and current trends on TikTok’s Creative Center.

Combining broad and niche hashtags can help you reach a wider audience while also targeting specific buyer intent. For example, a handmade jewelry brand might use #handmadejewelry alongside more specific tags like #statementearrings or #artisanjewelry.

In addition to visuals, using popular sounds can significantly boost visibility. Integrate these authentically into your brand's voice and product offerings. Jumping on a trend that feels forced or irrelevant can alienate your audience.

Consider how brands like Duolingo have cleverly integrated trending sounds into their educational content, making it both entertaining and brand-relevant.

Community-building is also important in growing your TikTok Shop. Actively responding to comments, answering questions in real-time during LIVE sessions, and building a sense of community around your brand builds loyalty and encourages interaction. Running polls or Q&A stickers in your stories can also be effective ways to engage your audience and gather valuable feedback. For example, a beauty brand could host a LIVE Q&A session addressing skincare concerns and highlighting relevant products available in their shop.

Moreover, engaging with relevant creators in your niche by commenting on their videos, duetting their content, or even sending them products for potential organic reviews can expose your brand to their audience. This leverages the trust and authenticity that creator recommendations often carry.

Take how Sugar Rush Sweeties partnered with several creators, including @sophdouglas_ who’s short video promoting the Valentine's Sweet Mix had over 2.5 million views.

Paid Advertising on TikTok Shop

TikTok's advertising platform offers a way to reach specific demographics and drive targeted traffic to your shop. Understanding the available ad formats can help make smart decisions for your brand:

In-Feed Ads

These ads are designed to blend seamlessly with the organic flow of TikTok's "For You" Page, increasing their likelihood of capturing user attention. They can be highly effective when they are visually appealing and align with the platform's style. TikTok offers various objectives for in-feed ads, including driving traffic, product views, and conversions.

Bee Inspired Clothing strategically leveraged in-feed ads. They began with extensive A/B testing to pinpoint viral content formats. A consistent stream of authentic GRWM (Get Ready With Me) user-generated content was deployed, meticulously tailored to resonate with their target demographic. This data-driven and audience-centric approach yielded a 25% CPA reduction, achieved 8 million campaign views, and drove a 3x increase in follower acquisition.¹⁵

Spark Ads

Use the power of authenticity by amplifying your top-performing organic content or successful creator collaborations. By turning these existing videos into ads, you leverage inherent trust and social proof to drive engagement and traffic to your shop with a native feel.

The Farmer's Dog, a premium e-commerce dog food provider, targeted US pet enthusiasts aged 25+ on TikTok to optimize subscriber acquisition and reduce CPA. Utilizing Spark Ads for authentic brand engagement, they partnered with creators for UGC to strengthen message impact. Precise audience segmentation further refined targeting. Within two months, this focused approach yielded lower CPAs at scale and a 5% conversion rate increase.¹⁵

Video Shopping Ads

Imagine showcasing your product catalog directly to users actively browsing content relevant to your niche. These visually appealing ads appear within user feeds or dedicated product carousels, as shown below. It allows seamless product discovery and direct purchases without users ever leaving the TikTok environment.

A special type of video shopping ads is LIVE Shopping Ads. Your brand can capitalize on the immediacy and engagement of live video by promoting your upcoming or ongoing LIVE Shopping events. These ads directly encourage users to tune in, interact with your brand in real-time, and make instant purchases of featured products.

Search Ads

Tap into the power of user intent with TikTok Search Ads. This format appears within search results when users actively type in keywords relevant to your products or niche, as seen on the screenshot below.

By aligning your ads with specific search queries, you connect with customers who are actively seeking solutions or products like yours, driving highly qualified traffic to your TikTok Shop.

Other Ad Types

• Top Ads: Positioned strategically at the top of the FYP for a fixed duration, Top Ads guarantee high visibility during peak user engagement times. This prime real estate offers an excellent opportunity to capture immediate attention and direct a significant volume of users to your TikTok Shop.

• Carousel Ads: Delivered seamlessly within the in-feed experience, Carousel Ads allow you to feature up to 35 product images that users can swipe through at their own pace. This format is particularly effective for showcasing a diverse range of products, highlighting different features, or telling a more comprehensive brand story, with the Video Shopping Ads (VSA) version enabling direct links to individual product pages within your TikTok Shop.

• Branded Hashtag Challenge Ads: While not directly focused on immediate sales, this encourages widespread UGC creation around a branded theme. By inspiring users to create and share videos featuring your hashtag, you significantly boost brand awareness and engagement. Strategically integrating calls-to-action to explore your TikTok Shop within the challenge description or through supplementary ad formats can indirectly drive sales and product discovery.

• Branded Effect Ads: Create memorable and shareable brand experiences with Branded Effects, such as custom stickers, filters, and special effects that TikTok users can incorporate into their own videos. This playful format fosters organic brand integration within user-generated content, increasing brand visibility and affinity, which can ultimately translate into increased interest and traffic to your TikTok Shop.

Successful paid advertising on TikTok Shop requires careful targeting, compelling creative content that resonates with the platform's audience, and continuous optimization based on performance data.

Integrating TikTok Shop with Your Existing E-commerce Ecosystem

A significant advantage for brands already operating on established e-commerce platforms is the seamless integration. For instance, Shopify provides integrations with TikTok Shop through their app store.¹⁶ Similar integration exists with platforms like WooCommerce and BigCommerce, which lowers the barrier of entry for many e-commerce businesses.

Integrating your TikTok Shop into your existing infrastructure can help optimize efficiency and provide a consistent customer experience. 

Brands offering an omnichannel experience see an 89% higher customer retention rate compared to those with fragmented systems.¹⁷ Therefore, a unified approach can lead to smoother flow from product discovery on TikTok to fulfillment and post-purchase support.

Order Fulfillment

As sales volume in your TikTok Shop grows, efficient fulfillment is critical for sustainable growth. Leveraging a comprehensive solution like Stord, particularly the One Commerce Order Management System (OMS), offers a significant advantage. This can act as your central hub, integrating with your TikTok Shop (depending on current API availability or through platform connectors) to streamline the entire fulfillment process.

The OMS orchestrates the complexities of order routing, picking, packing, and shipping through Stord's strategically located warehouse network, which enables faster and more cost-effective delivery to TikTok customers. Additionally, its infrastructure is designed for scalability. Your brand can seamlessly adapt to the unpredictable spikes in demand often seen with viral TikTok trends. This ensures consistent delivery speed and quality, even during peak periods.

Customer Service

Customers interacting with your brand through TikTok Shop expect the same level of service they receive on your primary e-commerce site. A unified customer service system allows your team to handle inquiries, address issues, and manage returns from all channels in a consistent and timely manner. This might involve integrating your TikTok Shop with your existing CRM or helpdesk software.

According to a Zendesk report, 69% of customers expect consistent service across all channels.¹⁸ This means a customer reaching out via TikTok direct message should receive the same level of support as one contacting you via email or your website's live chat.

Inventory Management

Selling on multiple platforms demands meticulous inventory management to prevent overselling and customer disappointment. Integrating your TikTok Shop with a robust Inventory Management System (IMS) provides real-time stock visibility for proactive adjustments.

Many sophisticated IMS solutions offer seamless integrations across various sales channels.

For instance, integrating with Stord’s Warehouse Management System (WMS) gives you a centralized and complete view of your inventory. You can track your stock from arrival to shipment for TikTok customers.

This WMS often includes features like cycle counting and demand forecasting, vital for optimizing stock levels amidst TikTok's trends. Using this solution with your primary e-commerce store and, directly or indirectly, with your TikTok Shop, you can have accurate TikTok Shop listings to prevent overselling and maximize customer satisfaction.

Marketing Analytics and Attribution

To understand the ROI of your TikTok Shop efforts, integrate its performance data with your broader marketing analytics. Robust tracking mechanisms allow you to attribute sales and customer acquisition to specific TikTok campaigns, content, and even creator collaborations. 

Utilizing TikTok Shop's native analytics alongside your existing marketing analytics platforms provides a complete view of your marketing performance and informs future strategy and budget allocation. The UTM parameters in links from your TikTok content and ads can help track conversions in platforms like Google Analytics.

Without unified analytics, you might underestimate the impact of a viral TikTok video that leads to a surge in sales on your main e-commerce site.

Measuring Success and Iterating

Vanity metrics like likes and views can be encouraging, but they don't always translate into tangible business outcomes. For sustainable growth, you need to focus on Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) that directly impact your bottom line and establish a culture of data-driven iteration on your TikTok Shop.

• Conversion Rate: Percentage of viewers who make a purchase after engaging with your content or visiting your shop. Track conversion rates from different traffic sources (organic videos, LIVE Shopping, paid ads) to understand what's most effective. For instance, you might find that LIVE Shopping events have a higher conversion rate compared to standard in-feed video ads.

• Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC): Understanding how much it costs you to acquire a new customer through TikTok Shop is vital for assessing the channel's profitability.

• Average Order Value (AOV): This metric reflects the average amount spent per order on your TikTok Shop. Strategies like product bundles, upselling during LIVE sessions, and offering free shipping above a certain threshold can help increase AOV.

• Customer Lifetime Value (CLTV): While it might take time to gather significant data, tracking CLTV for customers acquired through TikTok Shop will reveal their long-term value to your brand. Customers acquired through authentic engagement and community building might exhibit a higher CLTV compared to those acquired solely through paid advertising.

• Repeat Purchase Rate: Percentage of customers who make more than one purchase from your TikTok Shop. A high repeat purchase rate signifies customer satisfaction and loyalty, often fueled by positive experiences and the community aspect of the platform. Repeat customers spend significantly more than new customers, often up to 300% more over their lifetime.¹⁹

• Return on Ad Spend (ROAS): For your paid advertising efforts, ROAS is a critical metric

  • Below 1:1: You are spending more on ads than the revenue you are generating directly from those ads. This is generally unsustainable in the long run unless you have very specific non-revenue goals (e.g., initial brand awareness push).

  • 2:1 ROAS: For every $1 spent on ads, you generate $2 in revenue. This might be a break-even point for some businesses after considering cost of goods and other expenses.

  • 3:1 ROAS: For every $1 spent on ads, you generate $3 in revenue. This is often considered a good starting point for profitability for many e-commerce businesses.

  • 4:1 ROAS or higher: This is generally considered a very healthy and profitable ROAS.

• Engagement Rate (Beyond Likes): While overall engagement is important for visibility, delve deeper into metrics like product link clicks, "add to cart" actions, and time spent viewing product showcases. These indicate a higher level of purchase intent.

• Website Traffic and Conversions from TikTok: If you're also driving traffic from TikTok to your main e-commerce website, track referral traffic and the conversion rates of those visitors to understand the broader impact of your TikTok presence.

Data Analysis and Continuous Improvement

Simply tracking KPIs isn't enough; the real value lies in analyzing the data and using those insights to continuously improve your TikTok Shop strategy.

Experiment with different content formats, calls-to-action, product placements, and even LIVE Shopping formats. Use A/B testing to determine what resonates most effectively with your audience and drives higher conversions. For example, test different opening hooks in your videos or different product showcase layouts.

TikTok's analytics provides valuable data about your audience demographics, interests, and the type of content they engage with. Use this information to refine your targeting for both organic and paid efforts and tailor your content to better suit their preferences.

If you're collaborating with creators, track the performance of their content in terms of views, engagement, and, most importantly, the sales they generate through affiliate links or dedicated promotions. This data will help you identify high-performing creators for future collaborations.

Stay attuned to new trends, sounds, and features. Analyze how successful brands are leveraging these changes and identify opportunities to adapt your strategy accordingly.

Pay close attention to comments, direct messages, and reviews on your TikTok Shop. This qualitative data can provide valuable insights into customer sentiment, product satisfaction, and areas where you can improve the customer experience.

Growth Opportunity on TikTok Shop

The brands that thrive on TikTok Shop are those that embrace its dynamic culture, speak its visual language, and build genuine connections with its community. They understand that entertainment value often paves the way for commercial success, and they use the power of content to build trust and drive purchase intent. They also recognize that TikTok Shop isn't an isolated venture but an integral part of a cohesive omnichannel strategy.

The opportunity presented by TikTok Shop is immense. It's a chance to tap into a massive and engaged audience, leverage innovative shopping features, and potentially achieve significant ROI. But like any new frontier, it requires a willingness to learn, experiment, and adapt.

Are you ready to build your brand within it?