TikTok, the popular social media platform, has opened its first-ever pop-up shop on London's iconic Oxford Street. This strategic move is aimed at showcasing the power of the TikTok Shop feature, which has revolutionized the world of social commerce.
The TikTok Shop feature simplifies the shopping experience for consumers by providing a streamlined shopping flow. Users can directly access anything related to shopping activities in one tab, making it easy and convenient. To find the Store in the TikTok app, users simply open the app, go to the main page, select the search box, and search for the item they want to find in the Store.
The pop-up shop, was not accessible to the general public but was open to existing and prospective merchants and creators. The shop focused on tech, home & living, and book product categories, offering a real-world context for the breadth of brands and creators selling on the platform.
The pop-up shop hosted a range of brands and creators, including kitchen appliances brand Sage Studios, hair tech brand Cloud Nine, drone business DJI, and publisher Harper Collins. The pop-up also featured live streams from creators from fashion to food.
These live streams are particularly effective as studies have shown that 50% of TikTok users have bought something after watching a TikTok LIVE, and TikTok users are 1.7 times more likely to watch branded LIVES to buy products than non-users.
TikTok's community has created a new era of social commerce opportunities, where a single piece of content can quickly go viral and create both demand and opportunity. Hashtags like #TikTokMadeMeBuyIt have reached over 60 billion views, making TikTok a destination for people to discover trending products across various categories.
The opening of the pop-up shop on Oxford Street marks a significant shift in the retail landscape. It comes at a time when the former flagship store of Topshop on Oxford Street is set to be replaced by IKEA in autumn 2023. This move by TikTok further emphasizes the growing importance of online platforms in shaping consumer behavior and the retail industry at large.
