How to Integrate TikTok Shop and Shopify?

Tiktok Shop and Shopify: How to Set Up Seamless Cross-platform Integration

May 15, 2024 GemPages Team 0 Comments

TikTok is growing at an unprecedented rate. Over 55 percent of the digital population in the United States are TikTok users, totaling around 150 million people in the country. The platform also generated $3.8 billion in consumer spending in 2023 globally. If you’re running an eCommerce business, these numbers are simply too good to ignore.

TikTok’s explosive growth offers eCommerce businesses an unparalleled opportunity to connect with a vast, engaged audience. Integrating this powerful social channel with your eCommerce systems will expand reach and enhance customer engagement.

Let’s explore how you can seamlessly integrate TikTok Shop and Shopify and enable users to purchase products without leaving the app. Learn the secrets to social commerce and create a profitable online presence.

TikTok Shop and Shopify Overview

TikTok Shop and Shopify are both giants in their respective industries. TikTok Shop allows creators to market and sell products directly within the app while Shopify represents a more mature, well-established eCommerce platform that can cater to a wider customer base.

Here’s a closer look at what each platform offers and a comparison of their functionalities!

TikTok Shop Overview

TikTok Shop is an eCommerce solution integrated within the TikTok app. It transforms the short video platform into a one-stop shopping experience, allowing businesses and creators to sell products directly to consumers. In 2023, TikTok Shop generated $11.09 billion in gross merchandise volume (GMV).

Key Features

TikTok Shop offers unique features that aim at integrating eCommerce directly into the social media experience:

One-stop Shopping: Users can explore and purchase products directly without leaving TikTok, ensuring high engagement and a smooth shopping experience.
Livestream Commerce: TikTok Shop thrives by allowing merchants to host live sessions, during which they showcase products in real-time. Viewers can purchase products during the live stream.
Creator Collaborations: TikTok Shop encourages collaborations between brands and TikTok creators. Policies enable influencers to promote products through their content, which can lead to increased visibility and sales.
Affiliate Programs: Affiliate marketing allows creators to earn commissions on sales generated through their promotional efforts, establishing a mutually beneficial relationship between the platform, creators, and sellers.

Pricing Plan

TikTok Shop does not use a pricing structure as found on traditional eCommerce platforms. Instead, it operates on a commission model where TikTok takes a percentage of the sales made through the platform, with additional fees.

Common fees charged by TikTok Shop are:

Transaction fee: 3% to 4% of total customer payment, after refund (TikTok Shop Transaction Fee Policy).
Currency Conversion Fee: 2%.
Payout fee: Vary based on payment gateways.
Advertising: Vary depending on ad settings.

Shopify Overview

Shopify is a popular platform for those who want to start selling online. It offers robust features that can assist in establishing, managing, and optimizing an eCommerce store. Shopify is trusted by millions of merchants worldwide, generating $235.91 billion in sales.

Key Features

Shopify provides sellers with an impressive arsenal of applications, designed to help you build and manage your online store:

Store Builder: Shopify allows users to create a professional online store without needing any coding skills. Apps like GemPages offer complete solutions to help merchants build optimized, user-friendly landing pages, home pages, blogs, and more.

Learn More: Shopify vs WordPress: Which Is Better?

Payment Integrations: Shopify supports various payment methods. Merchants can connect gateways such as PayPal, and Apple Pay to process payments. It also calculates tax automatically calculates taxes based on customer location.
Analytics and Reports: Shopify enables you to monitor sales, track where your traffic is coming from, and observe customer behavior within your Shopify store. Get activity insights to improve efficiency.
Inventory Management: Shopify streamlines the management of your inventory and stock levels.
Multi-Channel Sale Support: Shopify allows sellers to incorporate different sales channels. They can sell directly through the online store, Facebook, Faire, or TikTok Shop. Shopify also supports drop-shipping.

Pricing Plans

Shopify provides 4 plans tailored to fit businesses of different sizes:

Basic: $25/month or $19/month if paid annually
Shopify: $65/month or $49/month if paid annually
Advanced: $399/month or $299/month if paid annually
Plus: $2300/month

TikTok Shop vs. Shopify

Let’s see how these two popular platforms stack up against each other!

TikTok shop

Shopify

User Demographic

Younger audiences, including Gen Z and younger millennials, and people who prefer engaging, visual content
Ideal for brands that appeal to trends and have a strong visual component to their products

A wider user base with varying backgrounds
Suitable for businesses from startups to established enterprises that require a comprehensive eCommerce solution

Selling Model

Social commerce model: sales are driven through social engagement on the TikTok platform
Focuses on in-app purchases, live selling, and direct product promotion within videos

Traditional online store model: businesses can set up a standalone website to manage and sell their products
Supports omnichannel selling across multiple online marketplaces and social media platforms

Marketing Channels

Viral TikTok video content, influencer partnerships, and interactive features like live streaming
TikTok Ads

SEO
Email marketing
PPC advertising
Social media integration
Affiliate marketing

Customization

Limited customization as the selling environment is confined within the TikTok app
Brands need creative content to stand out

Highly customization with 3rd-party apps
Extensive options for the online store, including themes, layouts, and advanced coding possibilities

Pricing

Operates on a commission basis

Clear pricing tiers to match different business sizes

Benefits of TikTok Shop and Shopify Integration

As shown by our comparison above, TikTok Shop and Shopify are designed with clear identities. Each has its strengths and weaknesses and excels in vastly different aspects. Integrating TikTok Shop and Shopify allows businesses to harness the strengths of both platforms for maximum impact.

Here are the biggest benefits that the integration offers:

Increased Reach and Engagement: Combining Shopify’s established eCommerce infrastructure and TikTok’s highly engaged user base broadens market reach. This integration allows businesses to capture the attention of TikTok’s dynamic audience, encouraging more interactions and driving higher traffic to their online store.
Viral Marketing: TikTok’s unique video format allows businesses to create compelling content that captivates viewers. Once the video goes viral, it can generate huge traffic boosts to Shopify storefronts.
Streamlined Shopping: The integration helps merchants leverage Shopify’s robust shopping experience to convert incoming traffic from TikTok Shop. Merchants have more tools to cross-sell, upsell, and grow customer loyalty.
Better Brand Awareness: Effective content on TikTok not only engages but also builds brand awareness and loyalty. The platform’s algorithm enhances visibility, helping to reach a broader audience.
Optimized Advertising Campaigns: TikTok Ads presents a more affordable way for businesses to acquire traffic, compared to other social platforms such as Facebook or Instagram. This will greatly benefit family-run stores or startups with limited budgets.

5 Easy Steps to Integrate TikTok Shop with Shopify

Follow this 5-step process to set up TikTok Shop from Shopify Admin:

#1 Preparation

First, check to see whether TikTok and Shopify integration is available in your region. It’s not supported in certain markets. In this stage, you should also set up a Shopify storefront as well as a TikTok Shop account. A TikTok Ads Manager account is optional if you wish to run paid campaigns.

Design your store based on the products and target demographics. Shopify offers great 3rd-party tools to streamline the building process. Apps such as GemPages enable merchants to create professional-looking custom pages that can be tailored to fit any brand or product type.

#2 TikTok App Installation

Log into your Shopify Admin, navigate to the Shopify app store, and search “TikTok”. If the TikTok app is available, click “Add sales channel” to start integrating it into your store.

#3 Configuration

After adding the sales channel, a TikTok Shop product card will appear. Select “Set up now”. Click “Connect” to connect your existing TikTok Shop or TikTok for Business Account to Shopify. Read the terms carefully before connecting.

Next, it will ask you to verify your business and provide the required information about your business. Fill in all the details to confirm connecting the two platforms.

#4 Data Sync

If your business is verified, another prompt should come through. Your Shopify store data, including Product Catalog, Inventory & Warehouse, will be synced automatically. Click “Finish setup” to complete the integration.

#5 Optimization

You can now start selling on both Shopify and TikTok Shop. Utilize analytics tools on both platforms to monitor the performance of your integrated shop. Customer reviews are another great source of insights. Analyzing the collected data and soliciting customer feedback will reveal areas for improvement, helping sellers to fine-tune their operations.

Learn More: Shopify vs Wix vs SquareSpace: Which is the Best Website Builder? [2024]

Common Roadblocks and How to Solve Them

Integrating TikTok Shop and Shopify can be challenging due to various technical issues and platform discrepancies. More often than not, things go sideways. Here are the popular errors that you may encounter and how to tackle them:

Integration Errors

Incomplete or incorrectly filled fields may trigger this error. Another common cause is non-compliance with integration requirements set by TikTok.

To resolve these issues, it’s crucial to ensure that all required fields are filled accurately. Double-check that your Shopify store meets all of TikTok’s specific requirements. If problems persist, disconnecting and then reconnecting the accounts can sometimes reset the integration and solve the issue.

Product Synchronization Issues

Merchants have reported synchronization problems when connecting TikTok Shop and Shopify. Some products are not visible in the TikTok Seller Center. This is often caused by technical issues or insufficient sync capacity. Missing required product information is also a potential reason.

To help both stores showcase all products correctly, it’s advised that you, as a seller, should:

Categorize the Products: Organizing your products into clear, well-defined categories. Accurate categorization also makes it easier to manage and sync Shopify products to TikTok Shop.
Enhance Product Uniqueness: Adding detailed descriptions and reference codes to each product to make them unique. This will limit the chance of the algorithm skipping products.
Use a Thrid-Party App: There are applications on the Shopify app store that provide enhanced syncing capabilities. They can handle larger product volumes and offer more robust synchronization features. Popular options include QuickSync for TikTok Shop and SKU IQ for TikTok Shop or POS.
Ensure Compliance: Certain product attributes are required in TikTok Shop, which is not available in Shopify. To ensure that your product catalog can sync successfully, make sure that they’re tagged with Product weight, Product dimension (Height, width, length), and Product certification (Required for some product categories).

Incomplete Existing Orders

Before you proceed with connecting TikTok to the Shopify app, ensure that all pending or unfulfilled orders, including any pending returns and refunds, are fully completed. This is vital because once you connect to the Shopify app, existing TikTok Shop orders and any updates to these orders (such as refunds) will not automatically sync to Shopify. These must be managed directly in the TikTok Seller Center.

To avoid this issue:

Go through your TikTok Shop Seller Center to identify any orders that are pending or unfulfilled. Make it a priority to complete these orders.
Address any pending returns or refunds before making the integration. Process these through the TikTok Seller Center as these transactions will not transfer to the Shopify system once the integration is complete.
Keep a detailed record of all transactions processed through the TikTok Seller Center. This documentation will be crucial for any necessary follow-ups or disputes that may arise post-integration.

Wrapping Up

The integration of TikTok Shop and Shopify presents a significant opportunity for eCommerce businesses to expand their reach. With TikTok continuing to grow at a staggering rate, leveraging this platform to sell is a strategic move.

However, there are challenges to navigate, such as integration errors, product synchronization issues, and maintaining consistent order management between platforms. If successfully conquers said roadblocks, businesses can capitalize on a younger, visually-driven audience.

Remember, the ultimate goal of integrating TikTok Shop with Shopify is to provide a streamlined shopping experience that meets the expectations of today’s digital consumers. Diversify but keep your identity and make shopping enjoyable for everyone!

FAQs

How to set up TikTok Shop?

Follow the steps below:

First, create a TikTok Business account. This will unlock TikTok Ads Manager and other tools such as analytics.
Locate the seller registration portal and fill out the application. Fill in the required information and submit documentation to the platform.
Wait for the results. You should receive an email in one or two days.
If you’re accepted, you can link your account and get selling.

How to go live on Shopify?

Shopify does not currently support livestream shopping, meaning you cannot livestream and sell directly on the platform. Instead, use social media or live streaming platforms to promote the products listed on Shopify.

How to add products to TikTok Shop?

To add new products to TikTok Shop, log into the TikTok Shop Seller Center and navigate to the “Products” section. From there, click on “Add Product”, fill in the required product details, upload images, set pricing, and submit the listings for approval.

What are the top-selling products on TikTok?

Popular products to sell on TikTok are phone cases, cosmetics, clothing, and electronics.

About GemPages Academy

GemPages Academy is a knowledge hub for storefront optimization and achieving overall eCommerce success. In collaboration with industry experts and leveraging cutting-edge Shopify applications, GemPages Academy offers a diverse array of content in various formats, including insightful blogs, intuitive tutorials, comprehensive webinars, and educational courses.