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If you’ve ever wanted to buy Mountain Dew on TikTok, it’s your lucky day. The platform (finally and officially) debuted TikTok Shop, its e-commerce feature that lets users make purchases without leaving the app, in the US.
Finally, because the rollout has been a long time coming, as TikTok has been testing in-app shoppable features since last fall. It’s been a bit of a bumpy road for the platform’s retail ambitions—the company was reportedly set to abandon its live-shopping efforts in the US last summer, but reversed course. And while social commerce and live shopping are popular in Asia, they haven’t quite found a footing stateside.
This week’s launch makes official the platform’s Shop tab and live shopping features in the US, as well as Shop ads that sellers can use to promote their storefronts on the app. The company has signed up 200,000+ sellers for Shop, according to TechCrunch. It told the New York Times that more than 90% of sellers are US-based.
Still, as the Times pointed out, TikTok has been accused of allowing the sale of “shoddy or copyright-infringing products.” A cursory glance at our own found items included a $69 pack of 96 Wild Berry Pop Tarts and something called a “Professional V-shape Face Double Chin Removal Exerciser” for 45 cents.
Read on: Last year, Marketing Brew asked media buyers what they thought about TikTok’s e-commerce ambitions.
Read the full article here
