TikTok, Shopify Team Up to Let Users Shop From App

Canada's e-commerce giant Shopifysaid on Tuesday it was partnering with TikTok to work on a feature that would let shoppers buy directly from the social media app.

Shopify merchants who have a TikTok business account would soon be able to add a shopping tab to their profiles for the first time ever, the company said in a blog post.

The pilot version is currently available to users in the US and UK and the company will launch in additional regions in the coming months.

Social media giants including Facebook, Alphabet's YouTube, and Twitter have recently been investing heavily in shopping features to drive sales growth.

The companies are vying for a piece of the so-called social commerce industry, which relies on users' ability to discover and buy products through social media apps and is expected to balloon to $50 billion (roughly Rs. 3,70,980 crores) from $36 billion (roughly Rs. 2,67,120 crores) in annual sales by 2023 in the United States according to research firm eMarketer.

Facebook-owned Instagram also said it will launch advertising on its Shop feature globally as it seeks to earn more money from brands hoping to reach new customers.

Instagram Shop is a tab on the photo and video sharing app that lets users browse items such as clothes and beauty products and in some cases purchase the items directly within the Instagram app.

Users can click on an Instagram Shop ad to view more details about the product, browse additional items from the brand or save the product to a wishlist.

The company began testing the ads earlier this month with a few select advertisers, but the feature is now open to brands globally wherever Instagram Shop is available.

© Thomson Reuters 2021