TikTok is rolling out in-app shopping on its platform through an extension of its partnership with Shopify. Since last October, Shopify merchants have been able to create and run TikTok campaigns from the Shopify dashboard, using Shopify’s TikTok channel app. Today’s announcement will enable Shopify merchants to add a shopping tab to their TikTok profiles by syncing their product catalogues to create a mini-storefront. The move will make it easier for creators to find customers and sell to them directly through the platform and for shoppers to access the brands and products sold by their favourite creators.

“The businesses thriving today innovate to find the best ways to engage with customers, and TikTok has provided brands a creative outlet to authentically do this,” said Lisa Friedrich, Head of SMB at TikTok EMEA. “As the home of joyful creativity, and with a hugely diverse audience, we are thrilled to expand our partnership with Shopify as it means we can go even further to help support brands on this journey. We hope that this partnership will continue to be a game-changer for Shopify merchants in Europe, helping them to quickly, effectively and accurately connect with our community in the UK. We are committed to helping support our platform with innovative shopping solutions, and work towards ensuring these businesses are at the heart of future economic growth.”

Shopify said that discoverability has become a growing priority for its merchants, with social commerce providing an opportunity for independent businesses to increase awareness of their brand. Shopify’s 2021 Future of Commerce report found that 54 per cent of younger consumers globally discover brands via social media.

The TikTok Shopping pilot is currently available to Shopify merchants in the US and UK. A select group of merchants in Canada will participate in the pilot in the coming weeks, and the feature will roll out to additional regions in the coming months. Shopify merchants can request early access to the TikTok Shopping pilot via the TikTok channel for Shopify.

Shopify has also partnered with TikTok to launch product links, which Shopify merchants can use to tag products in organic TikTok posts and send consumers directly to their online store for checkout. Consumers can choose to shop directly from the merchant’s storefront or click a tagged product in a merchant’s TikTok post.