TikTok Shop live commerce surges: 500% growth goes viral

TikTok Shop has achieved over 500% growth in gross merchandise value (GMV) in live commerce over the past eight months, despite economic challenges, the social media platform revealed.

The platform plans a substantial investment in discount promotional campaigns to boost domestic consumer spending in the final quarter of this year. This investment will surpass last year’s efforts to compete with China’s Temu and Shopee platforms.

TikTok Shop is expected to maintain its sales commission fee after announcing an increase in September. The platform also aims to enhance monetisation through advertising and live solutions.

The platform identified four distinct online shopping personas, noting that 77% of Thai shoppers engage in online shopping weekly. This underscores the growing normalisation of online retail.

In Thailand, TikTok boasts over three million creators and 2.4 million sellers, 99% of whom are domestic, said the Head of Business Marketing at TikTok Thailand, Sirinit Virayasiri.

“TikTok is entertainment first, and commerce second, positioning it as an entertainment platform that facilitates sales for merchants 77% of Thais shoppers indulge in retail therapy.”

For the final quarter of this year, TikTok plans to continue significant investments, exceeding last year’s spending to sustain its momentum in live commerce, according to the Head of FMCG, E-Commerce at TikTok Shop Thailand, Kornnika Niwattisaiwong.

New rival platform

Kornnika noted that a new rival platform from China, which she did not name, offers low prices mainly for price-conscious shoppers.

She said we have various bands of product prices with content entertainment, serving a wider range of users while complying with local standards.

From early this year until the recent mega campaign 8.8, TikTok Shop experienced a more than 500% increase in GMV through its live commerce platform.

Launched last year, the Shop Tab feature has facilitated easier product searches, leading to a 100% increase in GMV on TikTok Shop.

Additionally, the number of sellers registering as stores on TikTok Shop Mall tripled since its launch in the first quarter of this year. TikTok Shop Mall GMV recorded an 18-fold growth between January and August.

A study by Kantar found that 80% of TikTok users are likely to shop on TikTok Shop during shopping festivals, aligning with a 140% GMV growth in live commerce during major campaigns compared to non-campaign periods.

Previous data

Sirinit cited data from the mega sales festival 2023, showing that 89% of TikTok users shopped during the festivals, with this year’s spending likely to be 1.7 times higher, according to Kantar.

Kantar also reported that at the end of last year, shoppers on TikTok spent an average of 14,000 baht per sales event, with double the expenditure on electronics and 1.9 times more on health & fitness compared to non-TikTok users.

Moreover, TikTok introduced PACE, a framework to help brands and stores maximise sales opportunities.

• P stands for Persona, understanding target customer behaviour. TikTok identified four shopper groups: bargain hunters, effortless shoppers, inspirational shoppers, and purpose shoppers.
• A represents Assortment, expanding product variety and promotional packages to increase order value and GMV.
• C denotes Content, which involves creating high-quality, inspirational content that drives purchases, such as short videos and live streams.
• E stands for Empowerment, using advertising tools to boost sales.

Sirinit added we will introduce an artificial intelligence feature in the last quarter, reported Bangkok Post.