TikTok’s Expanding its In-Stream Shopping Push in Europe

As negotiations continue over TikTok’s future in the U.S., TikTok’s looking to expand its eCommerce options into other regions, in order to offset any potential loss of momentum as a result of a U.S. ban.

As reported by Reuters, TikTok’s planning to launch its TikTok Shop tools to businesses in France, Germany, and Italy on Monday, further expanding its in-stream shopping push in Europe

TikTok’s been steadily increasing its shopping push in Europe, after a couple of false starts, with the app seeing strong performance in the U.K., especially in the fashion vertical.

Indeed, last year, TikTok reported that it’s now the second-largest online beauty and wellness retailer in the U.K., underlining its potential in this respect.

TikTok also launched its shopping elements to retailers in Spain last December, and it’s also exploring opportunities in other markets, like Latin America, to broaden its eCommerce ambitions.

And its sales push remains aggressive, despite previous initiatives failing because of unrealistic growth expectations and strategies.

Back in 2022, TikTok was forced to revise its approach to its eCommerce drive in the U.K. after various local staff reports about unfair working expectations. TikTok had modeled its strategic approach on the company’s Chinese business, and clearly, the working expectations and incentives that are accepted in China are not the same as those in Britain. As a result, it was forced to remove its U.K. commerce chief, and restart its local market push.

And while things have clearly improved on this front, TikTok’s expectations and targets remain high, with Business Insider reporting that TikTok’s U.S. eCommerce team was recently savaged within a company meeting for failing to reach their 2024 sales targets.

TikTok’s U.S. sales have been on the rise, with the company a 3x increase in sales on Black Friday, while America is also its biggest shopping hub, outside of China.

Which is also why a U.S. ban would put such a significant dent in its broader expansion push, and why it’s now looking to focus on other markets to prop up sales activity and interest.

It remains to be seen whether in-stream shopping will ever become a major element of the TikTok experience. In China, the local version of TikTok (Douyin) now generates the majority of its income from in-app sales, driving a reported $US490 billion in GMV in 2024. For comparison, TikTok’s GMV in 2024 was around $30 billion.

You can see, then, the opportunity that TikTok’s eyeing, and why it’s pushing to make in-app shopping a thing.

And with sales in the app steadily increasing, it does make sense for TikTok to keep pushing its shopping options, in the hopes of catching on in more markets.