TikTok Shop is pushing on with its expansion into Europe by launching operations in France, Germany and Italy.
The social media platform still faces an uncertain future in the US, as ByteDance has still not found an American buyer to comply with new TikTok laws.
TikTok Shop was first introduced in 2021
TikTok Shop initially began in the UK and several Southeast Asian countries for beta testing in 2021 and entered the US market in 2023. Despite strong sales during the Christmas season, the TikTok Shop could lose its US consumers if the app still isn’t American-owned by the April deadline.
TikTok Shop’s main goal for Europe
In Europe, TikTok Shop has identified one of their main objectives, which is to onboard local merchants and diversify products.
Huge brands like AboutYou and Cosnova Cosmetics in Germany, as well as Carrefour in France, are some of the first to join the social media store.
Jan Wilk, head of operations at TikTok Shop UK, outlined the ideas behind the expansion after phenomenal success in the UK.
“In the UK, our business is growing rapidly, with a 131% annual increase in the number of shoppers on TikTok Shop and a 180% year-on-year rise in revenue at the end of last year. Over 6,000 TikTok Shop Lives are hosted in the UK every single day.“With such strong growth in the UK market, we've made the decision to bring our platform to even more customers throughout Europe.”Wilk noted that the expansion would begin on the 31st of March, following the expansion into Ireland and Spain last December. “TikTok users in these markets will be able to shop from their favourite brands, sellers and creators directly from within the TikTok app.”
What does it mean for influencer marketers?
Wilk specifically noted that influencers, small businesses and content creators would continue to grow with the European expansion, not just the big brands and creators.
“I’m hopeful and energized by the road ahead, and opening TikTok Shop for business in three additional European markets next week will mean we can discover more customers throughout Europe. I'm looking forward to welcoming even more creators, small businesses, and brands onto TikTok Shop to join us in this next exciting phase of discovery e-commerce.”
It’s exciting news for influencer marketing in Europe.
