In recent years, the way we shop has changed dramatically. As social platforms evolve into new-age malls—a trend largely driven by the pandemic—consumers will continue to prioritize relationships with brands based on the online experience they provide at every step.
With that in mind, in October 2020, TikTok and Shopify announced a global partnership aimed at helping more than a million merchants reach highly-interested audiences and increase sales by leveraging TikTok’s global reach. Today they announced new tools and integrations to expand revenue opportunities for retailers and enhance the brand-to-consumer experience.
Faster, more efficient and secure payments
In 2020, Shopify Shop Pay helped shoppers complete more than 137 million orders in 2020 and by the end of the year had enabled nearly $20 billion in cumulative gross merchandise value (GMV) since its launch in 2017.
To enable even greater usage, the company is partnering with Facebook to allow retailers selling through Shops on Instagram and Facebook to use the tool. In case you don’t know, Shop Pay works similar to Amazon’s one-click purchase product. In this case, users have the option to store their email address, credit card, shipping and billing information in the app, allowing them to complete their transactions faster and more efficiently, whether they’re browsing Facebook or Instagram.
“Through our continued collaboration with Facebook, we’re excited to combine the best in commerce with the power of the community and extend the benefits of Shop Pay to even more people buying and selling with Shops on Instagram and Facebook,” Shopify wrote in the official communication notice. The article also pointed out that Shop Pay checkout is 70 percent faster than a regular checkout while achieving a 1.72x higher conversion rate.
Convenient order tracking and sustainable shopping options
According to a recent Twitter report on customer support seventy eight percent of retail brands that excel at customer support address customer issues to build trust. A key part of this is personalized customer care, such as a convenient way to track and manage order follow-up.
“With more than 430 million orders tracked over 450 billion miles, our global order tracking service allows consumers to track all their important purchases, get updates, and manage orders,” Shopify said.
Aside from the simplicity and convenience, people also use social commerce because of the wider range of options available that fit what matters most to them. For the majority of consumers, sustainable shopping is the top priority when making these decisions. According to Shopify, more than half (53%) say they prefer eco-friendly or sustainable products, which is why Shop Pay offsets 100 percent of delivery emissions for every order.
Creating a more direct link between creators and monetization opportunities
In late 2020, TikTok made its foray into the e-commerce world with integrations with Shopify and Walmart. Today, the platform wants to expand its efforts even further with several new tools to enable more e-commerce opportunities and maximize its revenue opportunities. According to a new report from the Financial Times, the platform informed advertisers of three new updates coming soon to the app. These include:
- A tool that allows the most popular users to share links to products and automatically earn commissions on all sales
- The possibility for brands to present catalogs of their products on the platform
- “Livestreamed” shopping, a mobile version of TV shopping channels where users can buy goods with a few taps after seeing them presented by TikTok stars
The push to improve presentation and experience is smart and welcome, according to multiple statements shared with FT.
“The product and the content haven’t evolved to a point where discerning advertisers really want to get involved,” said an executive at an ad agency. With added features to simplify bids and formalize commission processes, as well as features to deliver in an in-app presentation, this could be the impetus some advertisers are waiting for to pull the trigger.
“Culturally, TikTok is well positioned for livestream commerce to capture the blurring distinction between content and commerce because it doesn’t feel as polished as other platforms,” added Jack Smyth, creative technology officer at WPP’s Mindshare.
As the platform endured a tumultuous and uncertain 2020, one thing is clear: to retain its greatest creators, it must ensure they can generate similar revenues to other, more established and lucrative platforms.
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