TikTok Uses Brick-and-Mortar Shop to Promote ‘Community Commerce’

TikTok has spent a week running a brick-and-mortar pop-up shop for brands and creators.

The shop is not open to the public; instead, it is showing prospective merchants and creators how they can sell online via the social media platform, TikTok said in a Wednesday (July 5) press release.

TikTok Shop U.K., open on Oxford Street in London Friday (June 30) to Thursday (July 6), provides a real-world setting in which prospective sellers can see what’s being sold on the platform, meet with TikTok experts to learn about social selling and host livestreams, according to the release.

“Through this exciting pop-up shop on the iconic Oxford Street, we hope to shine a light on the opportunities available for merchants and creators to be discovered and thrive on the platform,” TikTok General Manager of eCommerce Patrick Nommensen said in the release.

TikTok has become a home of “community commerce,” which brings together community, entertainment and shopping, according to the release. Half of the users of the platform have bought something after TikTok LIVE, a live video that allows users and creators to interact in real time.

The pop-up shop focused on three popular product categories: tech, home and living, and books, the release said.

“TikTok’s community has created a brand-new era of social commerce opportunities, where a single piece of content can quickly go viral and create both demand and opportunity,” Nommensen said in the release. “We’ve seen merchants and creators transform their businesses and their lives in a way that would be impossible on any other platform.”

Similarly, Shopify is working to simplify the process of connecting creators with merchants and empower them to generate income more quickly and efficiently.

The commerce platform launched its Collabs Network June 28, allowing Shopify merchants to establish a roster of creators with which they can collaborate.

In other news from TikTok, it was reported June 28 that the platform will soon be launching its first online retail store within the United States version of the app.

The social media platform’s new store will include an array of consumer goods, from kitchen gadgets to toys, and aims to mirror the success of parent company ByteDance’s Douyin — the Chinese version of TikTok.

For all PYMNTS retail coverage, subscribe to the daily Retail Newsletter.