TikTok Meets Amazon: The Future of Social Shopping

By Bella Roebuck, Social Media & Outreach Executive at Banc

Following in the footsteps of similar partnerships with Meta and Snapchat, Amazon and TikTok have teamed up to make quick purchases even quicker. Thanks to a new integration on the social media platform, users can now make an Amazon purchase without actually having to tap through to Amazon itself.

First: the how? It’s all powered by Amazon through ads placed on TikTok. When users see Amazon product recommendations scrolling through videos, they can make the purchase right there and then.

As for the why, Deloitte reported last year that social shopping has been on the rise at a rate of around 18% per year. It’s easy to see why the two would want to capitalise on the growing trend.

Of course, there are other reasons at play too. The collab underlines the potential for businesses to really reach consumers by converting social engagement into sales more than they already can. And if you’re an e-commerce business lagging behind on this kind of thing, then it should be a real wake up call, especially where investing in paid and organic social media strategies are involved.

Meanwhile, the potential to capitalise on impulse buys alone makes it well worth the investment as it is, particularly when TikTok has such a powerful sway amongst certain younger demographics. The platform has seemingly conquered the online entertainment world of quick fix videos, and now it’s turning its focus towards being an effective sales channel.

With all that said, for brands looking to boost their sales, it won’t quite be so simple as setting up a TikTok profile. The success hinges largely on having a strong social media strategy.

Businesses will have to sharpen up their social media campaigns. On a platform like TikTok, where trends and consumer interests move at a rate of knots, content that keeps up with what can be pretty fair-weather is going to be essential if a business wants to increase visibility and engagement.

Just as important will be their organic social strategies, too. Consistent content goes a long way towards building brand loyalty and trust, two tent poles that translate to genuine long- term success. And it’s this kind of content that lets businesses connect with their audience on a more personal level, and consistency will turn that into a fully-fledged community around the brand itself. Get that right, and a business puts itself in a far better position to leverage in-app purchases courtesy of Amazon and TikTok.

If nothing else, the collaboration and integration of these two businesses makes it clear to others looking to level up their social media game: those who don’t prioritise their social media game risk being left behind.