Premiere｜TikTok US Shop market comprehensive analysis and bullish categories (with registration link)
Dear EchoTik users， The TikTok US Shop (aka: TikTok Shop, a closed-loop shop) is here now, with the first small traffic tests for local US merchants. The category is open fully, but requires "local delivery" and is by invitation only.
This article will provide you with a detailed analysis of the TikTok US shop from the following aspects: more than 5,000 words, full of the real thing, remember to like + favorite, and forward it to your operation partners.
The difference between TikTok's "closed-loop" shops and "semi-closed-loop" shops.
The differences between the US shops and other shops and the registration process.
What is the status of TikTok in the US?
The user profiles of TikTok in the US.
Hot e-commerce categories of TikTok in the US.
(1) The difference between TikTok's "closed-loop" shops and "semi-closed-loop" shops
Since the opening of TikTok UK shop business in June last year, many European and American sellers have been preparing to enter the US market. This year, there have been frequent rumours of the opening of closed-loop shops in the US, and finally in October, TikTok has successively launched layout actions in North America: not only began to increase logistics construction in the United States, but also was rumored to establish a partnership with Talkshoplive, an American live streaming company based in Los Angeles, to launch a live shopping platform in North America by outsourcing its business.
Before the launch of the closed-loop shops, TikTok still entered the market in the form of a British-American fusion car (TikTok Shopping).
The so-called Anglo-American fusion car refers to the extension of a third-party platform (such as the independent website builder shopify, etc.) to bind to TikTok, after which British and American users can see the shopping cart and homepage window in the video and complete the order. The difference between TikTok Shop and Shopping is shown in the diagram below.
(2) Differences between the US shops and other shops and the registration process
As at the beginning of the announcement of the opening of TikTok Shop UK closed-loop small stores in June 2021, due to the current incomplete infrastructure, at present, TikTok US Shop stores have first opened local store registration quotas and adopted a targeted invitation system. The users need to submit materials to complete registration with invitation codes. The threshold is high and the platform requires sellers to have a US-based warehouse, which can be shipped within 3 days. According to sources, the review of shops in US is stronger than in any previous countries, and it is not possible to pass 100% with an invitation code.
Since February 2021, TikTok Shop has been launched in Indonesia, the UK, Malaysia, Thailand, the Philippines, Vietnam, Singapore and the US. Currently, TikTok Shop supports both local + cross-border registration, except for Indonesia and the US, which only support local registration. Local shops generally require a local company licence. Cross-border shops can apply for a company licence in Mainland China and Hong Kong, China. In terms of material preparation, local shops are more difficult to implement than cross-border shops, but no deposit is required for the time being.
To register for TikTok Shop, merchants need to prepare the following materials and complete the registration according to the process shown in the picture: register for TikTok Shop
US phone number and email address (or sign up with a TikTok account)
Certificate of incorporation
US passport/driver's licence
(3) The status of TikTok in the US
Despite calls for it to be banned by various agencies in the US, TikTok is a hot social media platform. The latest figures show that since TikTok's withdrawal from the Indian market, the US has the highest share of users in its global market. According to Bankless Times, TikTok has 136.5 million TikTok users in the US, 27% more than its second highest country, with younger users making up the majority.
The other countries with the second highest number of TikTok users after the US are Indonesia (99.07 million) and Brazil (73.58 million) users, Russia (51.3 million), Mexico (50.52 million), Vietnam (45.82 million) and the Philippines (40.36 million). Of these, Indonesia, Vietnam and the Philippines have opened TikTok Shops, which have been accepted and enjoyed by the majority of users. Indonesia, in particular, nearly broke US$10 million in single-day GMV.
Jonathan Merry, CEO of BanklessTimes, expects: TikTok's user base in the US will continue to grow. Therefore, we look at the success story of TikTok Shop's development in Southeast Asia, and the outlook for TikTok US market is more optimistic.
The US is home to TikTok's largest advertising audience, with the latest figures showing that TikTok ads now reach over 120 million US users aged 18 and over. This is only 20% lower than the 150 million US users aged 18 and over that marketers can reach using ads on Instagram. In addition, TikTok's ad coverage in the US is equivalent to 46.5% of the total US population in the same age group.
TikTok's user retention time and frequency in the US is also worth paying attention to. eMarketer data has predicted that TikTok's monthly active users in the US will grow by 21.9% in 2020 to reach 45.4 million. By 2021, this figure exceeds 50 million. Following a 97.5% growth in 2019, the dynamic short-form video platform is attracting many users, especially children and teenagers.
Not only does it have the largest user base, according to Sensor Tower data, consumers in the US continue to spend on TikTok, maintaining TikTok's position as the second largest source of revenue (first in China, accounting for 57% of revenue). In Q4'21, US consumers spent nearly $110 million on the app, accounting for 13% of global revenue. That's 5 percentage points higher than Q4 '20, when U.S. spending was $29.6 million and about 8% of global spending.
IIt is worth noting that TikTok is not only a favourite among young peopl, but also has a high level of national popularity. According to cloudflare, TikTok replaced Google as the king of global visits in 2021. Many American users use it as a search engine.
(4) The user profiles of TikTok in the US
For merchants and brands entering the US e-commerce market for the first time, it is important to understand the core users of the US market, age group and the interests , in order to evaluate what types of products to use and how to enter the new market.
According to the "Q1 2022: App Data Summary" , the most active users of TikTok in the first quarter of the year were the over 40 million young global Generation Z users. According to App Ape's user profiles of TikTok in the US, female users are overwhelmingly dominant. Since 2017, TikTok has had around 3 billion active users worldwide.
It can be said that it belongs to young people. 60% of TikTok monthly active users are between the ages of 16-24. According to the report, 56.1% of TikTok's global ad audience is female. Users aged 18 to 24 account for about 45% of TikTok's global ad coverage for users aged 18 and older, and women in this age group make up about a quarter of the platform's audience for ads aged 18 and over. This means that women between the ages of 18 and 24 make up a higher percentage of TikTok's advertising audience than users of any gender aged 35 and over.
According to a Global Webindex survey, TikTok's US user base is divided into three main categories: "Generation Z (born 1996-2012)" is more likely to share videos on TikTok than other user groups, and one in five of them have followed the official accounts of new brands in the past month. In terms of content, they are more interested in subculture content, such as beauty, animation, fashion and funny videos.
"Millennials (born 1981-1995)", a group from the late eighties to the late nineties. Nearly half of millennials consider themselves to be receptive to new things. A quarter of the group actively seeks out new brands and products on TikTok, and their favourite content is mainly movies, games, food and funny videos. This is a growing user group, although they account for a small proportion, they have accumulated relatively high levels of wealth due to their age, so their spending power is not to be underestimated.
"Generation X (born in 1965-1980)" In the whole year from 2020 to 2021, due to the impact of the epidemic, users over 45 years old, the so-called Generation X, have increased by 200% on TikTok, which is also a user group that we deserve to pay attention to. 27% of Gen X prefer to interact with everyone in the comment area, and this user prefers some daily trivial things such as cooking, pets, and family.
From the above user portraits, we can see that the current TikTok users are not only the legendary Generation Z, it is an APP with all-age coverage and a generally high purchase rate. As a result, brands targeting Generation Z (those born between 1996 and 2012), Millennials (those born between 1981 and 1995), and female-focused brands will find the largest potential customer base on TikTok.
The data also shows:
TikTok users are mainly the backbone of society and are willing to pay for quality. Nearly 70% are professionals, and more than half of the users are from high-income families, and nearly ninety percent are decision-makers in household purchases.
Compared with other groups, they are more willing to pay for quality, tend to consume in advance, and are willing to share with people around them, paying more attention to brand accounts.
In terms of interests, games and 3G are relatively concerned about them, more than half of the users are technology enthusiasts, and even nearly 20% of users must buy the latest technology products.
Beauty has always been the strength of brands going global, and 1/4 of users pay attention to beauty experts and tend to listen to social media praise to prompt purchases.
Holiday marketing is also a hot spot that TikTok must deploy for US merchants and brands. According to the Smartly survey, 55% of respondents said they would like to buy holiday gifts directly through social media ads during the holidays, and 24% of them said they would buy holiday gifts through TikTok, an increase of 6% from 2021.
(5) Hot e-commerce categories of TikTok in the US
Let's start with the macro data: the US population is generally high in consumption and has a high e-commerce penetration rate. According to Statista statistics and forecasts, as of May 2020, e-commerce penetration in North America reached 77% in 2021 and, according to forecasts, may grow to 85% in 2025, and 263 million e-commerce users were in the US in 2021. This number is expected to grow to 291 million by 2025. Of these, the main consumer is aged 25-34, accounting for 20.2% of all e-commerce users.
According to eMarketer's research report Amazon US E-commerce Sales by Category 2022, in the North American market, compared to Q1 2021, the following main categories are growing rapidly in 2022:
Overseas consumers are buying more essential products online, such as groceries, household products and toiletries.
The new crown epidemic is entering The "coexistence" period has unleashed pent-up demand from overseas consumers for clothing, accessories and beauty products.
Based on this, food and beverages and health, personal care and beauty, I personally believe, may be the two fastest growing e-commerce categories.
On TikTok, we have also seen the power of social e-commerce. As of December 2021, the e-commerce hashtag #TikTokmademebuyit has been viewed more than 7.4 billion times. This hashtag has become one of the most popular consumer communities as users showcase what they have recently purchased as a result of TikTok's seeding. You can see many items that have exploded under this hashtag, such as: leggings, toys, women's clothing, snacks and more. Products that explode on TikTok are also seen offline and have become an important part of the promotional strategy of successful US retailers.
And in reviewing the data of the hot selling products in each country from 21 to 22 years, according to the third-party data platform, we found that the following categories basically occupy the Top 5 position in the global TikTok small shops: beauty and personal care, mobile digital, household items , clothing and accessories, footwear and luggage. These categories are in high demand, have moderate unit prices, are easy to showcase through short videos and live streaming, and are loved by a wide range of consumers.
When preparing for the US shop, we can also look at the hot categories in the UK market, which also has high e-commerce penetration, a high level of consumer spending and a similar culture and major language. For example, crystal stones are consistently high in sales in the UK. Influenced by the popular divination culture and many other aspects, crystal stones are very popular among young people in Europe and the US.
According to EchoTik (https://echotik.live), a third-party data analysis and selection platform for TikTok, Crystal Stones is now available in small shops in the US, with a unit price of between $40 and $60, well above the unit price in the UK at the same time last year, and has achieved the highest sales in the market.
Taking into account the general development of e-commerce in the US and the user composition of the TikTok US market, I suggest that US shops pay attention to the following points when selecting products.
Moderate customer unit prices, between $15 and $50. The first priority is to choose a large category with a wide customer base.
Clothing and luggage: mainly women's clothing, including leggings, sportswear, socks, affordable women's bags, etc.
kTok.Beauty and personal care for popular brands with medium and high unit prices and niche brands with high unit prices are easy to order.
In the long run, make full use of social media operations to establish a strong brand identity.
The above is a full analysis of the TikTok US market for you！
