[This is a sponsored article with TikTok.]
More than just a social media app for endless, scrolling fun, TikTok has become a worthy challenger in the ecommerce scene via TikTok Shop.
Since TikTok Shop reached Malaysian shores earlier this year, SMEs have been utilising the platform to expand their growth.
Over the 11.11 ecommerce event, TikTok Shop held its own 11.11 Mega Deals Campaign, offering a range of products from local and global sellers alike.
Free shipping vouchers, coupon giveaways, and other items from participating brands were also given out during livestream sessions.
With the help of the TikTok team, we spoke to merchants such as ZUCCA, Alha Alfa, Gaabor, and Dessini who shared their experiences of selling on the platform throughout the 11.11 campaign.
Giving local SMEs a boost
Championing “shoppertainment”, TikTok allows users to shop and be entertained simultaneously within the app itself.
The social media platform seamlessly integrates TikTok Shop with livestream videos of merchants promoting their products.
You can find these videos in the “LIVE” tab on the app, or stumble upon them on your For You page, where you can access a seller’s shop and purchase their products within TikTok itself.
For consumers, this means ease of shopping, while for sellers, it’s a model that increases their visibility greatly.
During TikTok Shop’s 11.11 Mega Deals Campaign which lasted a week, ladies’ wear brand ZUCCA saw a Gross Merchandise Value (GMV) increase of 502.37% from its 10.10 campaign.
To push live sales conversions, vouchers worth RM110K were given out, with half of them claimed.
ZUCCA also hosted a lucky draw worth RM30K to increase viewers’ watching durations, resulting in video views surging by 302.26%, and a 46.81% increase in watch time. On 11.11, the brand launched merchandise and vouchers worth RM11 to reward loyal customers.
Speaking on their experience, ZUCCA’s team believes that telling followers about how their products would benefit them instead of hard selling was a contributor to the brand’s success.
“We took the opportunity to use TikTok Shop’s livestream to do more engagement and find out what our users need, to build a stronger relationship with our customers,” ZUCCA’s team shared.
Local cosmetics brand Alha Alfa hosted lucky draws where customers only needed to purchase one item from his shop to participate. The prizes included items like an iPhone 14, a mini fridge, or a makeup storage box, to name a few.
Other than the lucky draw, Alha Alfa also held promotions with buy 1 free 1 deals, and up to 80% discounts on the store’s products. The brand also collaborated with local celebrity, Zara Zya in its promotional efforts, pulling in more traffic during the livestream.
Based on these initiatives, Alha Alfa saw an average of 2.2K views between November 8-11, while its GMV was said to grow by 3,423.38%.
Datuk Abdul Al Halim Al Fadzil, who founded the brand, shared that he appreciates the ease of operating TikTok Shop which makes it simple for merchants to appeal to audiences. He added that being able to demonstrate a product on livestreams creates excitement for customers to make purchases.
“With that, we’ve managed to gain profit and grow our business easily, as it helps us in attracting new customers apart from our existing ones,” he stated.
Gaabor, a consumer electronics brand, partnered with over 100 creators (otherwise known as hosts) from TikTok Shop Partners to conduct livestreams and post short videos which marketed the brand’s products.
Did you know: TikTok Shop Partners (TSP) hosts are service providers for TikTok Shop sellers, helping them manage content creation, shoppable livestream production, store operations, etc.
A competition was also held between the creators to see who could bring in the most GMV over a period of time.
With the help of these creators, Gaabor claimed that its GMV grew by 680%, while order sales increased by 800% from its 10.10 campaign.
Free giveaways were also presented during their livestreams. Throughout the 11.11 campaign, the brand’s total livestreams grew to 10 hours per day, with livestream views increasing by 400%.
Another cookware brand, Dessini can attest to similar success. With the help of TSP hosts, the brand attained sales of US$102.5K (RM464.3K) from livestreams, which also translated as 326% GMV growth compared to its 10.10 campaign.
Dessini’s livestream views saw a 253% growth, too, and the brand reported that its team of creators continuously streamed for 17 hours.
Studying past historical data to identify effective TSP hosts was a contributing factor which Dessini’s team believes managed to drive up their traffic.
They added, “After we joined TikTok Shop, our accumulated sales volume reached more than RM7 million, which has increased our company’s overall performance by 10%.”
Sharing their gratitude, Dessini’s team noted that TikTok Shop was able to boost them in being a “hot-selling brand” within a few months.
Shopping integrated seamlessly with content
According to TikTok Shop Malaysia’s FMCG category director Wilson Leong, the platform’s intention is to shape the ecommerce space in Malaysia, maximising local business owners’ potential in shoppertainment.
Being an avid TikTok lurker myself (where I exclusively watch content and tag my friends, but don’t post anything), it’s commendable to see the platform expand outside its usual short video content.
With more festive seasons around the corner, the platform hopes to see more SME owners and online merchants come on board to take advantage of its shoppertainment capabilities here.
TikTok is available for free on the App Store, Google Play Store, and Huawei AppGallery.
- Register your business on TikTok Shop here.
- Read other ecommerce-related articles we’ve written here.
Featured Image Credit: Vulcan Post
