Shopify, TikTok Expand Partnership Worldwide

Need to Know

• The expansion furthers a deal, launched in October of last year, that allowed US Shopify merchants to integrate TikTok into their marketing campaigns.
• Shopify merchants from 14 more countries, including Canada, the UK, South Korea and Malaysia can now access TikTok’s channel app within Shopify.
• Merchants will have access to self-service marketing tools within TikTok’s app.

Analysis

Thousands of merchants will be given access to new social selling tools this week, as Shopify is expanding its partnership with TikTok to include 14 new countries.

The Shopify-TikTok partnership was first announced in October of last year, at which time US sellers were given access to a suite of self-service marketing tools within TikTok, in order to use the Gen Z-friendly social media site as part of their marketing campaigns. Now, Shopify merchants in 14 more countries have access to the TikTok channel app within Shopify: Australia, Canada, the U.K, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Israel, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, South Korea, Thailand, and Vietnam.

In October, when Shopify and TikTok first announced their partnership, Blake Chandlee, vice president for global business solutions at TikTok noted that, due to the rise of social selling, “retailers are recognizing that TikTok’s creative and highly engaged community sets it apart from other platforms.”

“We’re constantly exploring new and innovative ways to connect brands with our users, and Shopify is the perfect partner to help us grow and expand our commerce capabilities globally,” he continued.

The TikTok channel allows merchants to create a TikTok For Business account, and release In-Feed shoppable video ads directly within Shopify. To do this, merchants select the product they want to advertise, and a video ad is automatically generated to drive shoppers to their Shopify stores. The TikTok integration is the latest release from Shopify Channels, which are sales and marketing channels that allow merchants to connect with their customers various mediums, including Facebook, Instagram, Amazon, and Walmart.

Shopify has announced a number of expansions and partnerships in recent months, as the e-comm giant worked to accommodate a spike in merchants turning to online selling due to COVID-19. These included integrating Shop Pay with Facebook and Instagram, and partnering with Stripe to offer checking accounts to vendors and merchants. Shopify also partnered with Walmart for the retail giant’s third-party marketplace, which helped it double in size in just 12 months.