How Major Brands Are Capitalizing on TikTok Shop

Despite the potential U.S. ban on TikTok, brands like Coca-Cola, Benefit Cosmetics, and e.l.f. Beauty continue to use TikTok Shop effectively. They employ the platform for product launches and influencer collaborations to drive sales and enhance brand visibility. Social commerce is still in relatively early days but growth and best practices are emerging.

Even as a potential TikTok ban in the U.S. looms, brands are doubling down on its e-commerce platform TikTok Shop.

Since its launch about seven months ago, brands including Coca-Cola, e.l.f. Beauty and Benefit Cosmetics have increasingly honed in on TikTok Shop's growing power to drive sales directly within the platform with the help of TikTok-exclusive product launches, affiliate creators and new sales events hosted by the platform.

While Benefit, Coca-Cola, PacSun and e.l.f., declined to comment on whether they’re planning to make any changes to their social shopping strategies in the face of the TikTok ban, they all acknowledged the power of the platform in driving sales and using it to launch new products. And these brands aren’t alone—TikTok reported last week that more than 500,000 merchants were selling to U.S. consumers on its app at the end of 2023, double the number of merchants from just three months earlier. 

“When you’re launching a product on TikTok Shop, it’s not only a sales channel, but it’s the fantastic marketing that goes along with it, as well,” said Toto Haba, senior VP of global omni marketing at Benefit Cosmetics. “TikTok is already where women are discovering beauty [products], and even if those videos don't convert, they’re generating so much awareness for us. So, [TikTok Shop] is kind of doing double duty for us.”

Full story at AdAge.