Author | Guo Zhaochuan

Editor | Wei Bo

In the current e-commerce landscape, live commerce has gained momentum, emerging as a significant global trend. This transformation is particularly evident in the UK market, where TikTok Shop's rise has sparked widespread attention and heated discussions. Since its establishment in the UK in 2021, TikTok Shop has continuously refined its operations, showcasing a rapid development trajectory this year. As the live commerce model matures and becomes more prevalent, an increasing number of live streamers have emerged in the UK market, achieving remarkable business growth through TikTok Shop. This model has deeply integrated into the development strategies of businesses across various industries, becoming a key driver of growth while significantly altering local consumer shopping habits and lifestyles.

This summer, TikTok Shop UK has further intensified its investments and layouts in the live commerce sector. Just yesterday, the official launched a series of heavyweight incentive policies titled the “Million Pound Club,” providing robust platform support for newly joined UK merchants to encourage new sellers to join. Under the “Million Pound Club” program, new UK merchants will enjoy benefits including a zero commission rate for up to 90 days (reducing sales costs), free access to TikTok Shop’s “Fulfillment By TikTok Shop” logistics service (alleviating logistics burdens), and “exclusive operational support for high-potential merchants,” offering support from initial sales, operational training, to post-sales fulfillment and platform marketing activities for merchants with high growth potential. The announcement of the “Million Pound Club” program underscores TikTok Shop’s confidence in accelerating UK merchants’ embrace of the live commerce trend, reflecting the inevitable demand of the evolving live commerce ecosystem in the UK market. Various merchants deeply entrenched in the UK market have long anticipated this.

Announcement of TikTok Shop’s “Million Pound Club” Incentive Policy

01."Million" milestone achieved, unleashing the potential of the UK market

According to Retail Economics, the value of the UK social commerce market is expected to double in the next four years, soaring from £7.4 billion to nearly £16 billion. Its share of the overall e-commerce market will also significantly increase from 6% to 10%, growing at four times the rate of the overall e-commerce market. TikTok Shop UK’s live commerce strategies and tactics have matured, enabling UK livestreamers to navigate the platform with greater ease. Some brands have even achieved sales of hundreds of thousands of pounds solely through carefully planned live streaming events. During the UK summer sale, the beauty brand Made By Mitchell made history on TikTok Shop UK, becoming the first UK brand to surpass $1 million (approximately £800,000) in daily sales. Its founder and CEO, renowned makeup artist Mitchell Halliday, said, “I am incredibly proud to be the first UK beauty brand to reach the $1 million milestone in daily sales on TikTok Shop.” When he joined the platform last year, he celebrated reaching $2 million in weekly sales, but now he has surpassed $1 million in just one day. Notably, this achievement stems from Mitchell’s success in live commerce, with products like Liquid Blursh and Curve Case Cream Makeup Palettes featuring “exclusive live stream discounts,” successfully attracting the attention and purchases of numerous UK consumers. This victory from a Manchester livestream studio may seem commonplace to Chinese consumers but significantly reshapes UK consumers’ online shopping concepts and habits.

UK influencer Mitchell celebrating his massive live streaming success

In fact, Made By Mitchell is not the only brand to witness significant sales and recognition growth on TikTok Shop since 2023. For example, the UK homeware brand Interior Finish Outlet, though first joining TikTok Shop in November 2022, only commenced official sales activities in September 2023, subsequently achieving remarkable growth with total sales exceeding £320,000 within a month.

As the potential of the live commerce model in mature European and American markets becomes increasingly apparent, its acceptance in the UK market has also notably risen. TikTok Shop’s launch of the “Million Pound Club” program in the UK market, continuing large-scale merchant recruitment and expanding key investments, underscores its confidence in accelerating live commerce development in this key market. It also presents excellent opportunities for ambitious, capable, and creative merchants and influencers. Regardless of size, with the platform’s development and investments, influencers and merchants can expect their earnings and performance to rise accordingly. Through TikTok Shop, influencers and merchants can attract significant consumer attention and purchases via live commerce. TikTok Shop, with its extensive affiliate programs, facilitates collaborations between merchants of all sizes and influencers, promoting products through influencers’ creative content. This virtuous cycle further drives the prosperity of live commerce and sales growth in merchant livestreams. This emerging e-commerce model not only offers UK consumers a richer and more convenient shopping experience but also opens up new sales channels and growth points for businesses of all sizes in the UK.

02.What will the Million Pound Club bring to the UK market?

TikTok Shop’s “Million Pound Club” incentive program provides an efficient and convenient development path for emerging brands and SMEs looking to tap into the UK live commerce market, thereby achieving growth. “By introducing the new ‘Million Pound Club’ program, we hope that these e-commerce solutions and resource support will help merchants grow rapidly and reach new users,” said Jan Wilk, Head of Operations for TikTok Shop UK. “Now is the best time to do business on TikTok Shop!” Through practical measures such as waiving sales commissions, providing logistics support, fostering community building, and increasing exposure opportunities, TikTok Shop offers merchants traffic support, brand building, and marketing assistance. Specifically, TikTok Shop offers a “0% sales commission,” allowing newly joined merchants to enjoy zero commission benefits for up to 90 days. This applies to new sellers who joined after June 23 or merchants without sales in the past six months. Additionally, free fulfillment and delivery services are available until September 30, 2024, providing merchants with logistics solutions that reduce costs, improve delivery efficiency, and ensure smooth inventory management. In terms of marketing and customer acquisition, TikTok Shop will host regular training and exchange activities, sharing market trends, operational tips, and success stories to enhance merchants’ operational capabilities. With TikTok Shop’s promotional support, merchants will gain more exposure opportunities, attracting more users’ attention and purchases. TikTok Shop will also collaborate with merchants to plan marketing activities, leveraging the platform’s user insights to precisely reach target consumers. Regarding the crucial after-sales service side, the “Million Pound Club” incentive program also covers these aspects. These measures collectively constitute TikTok Shop’s comprehensive support for merchants, alleviating their initial burdens and providing tools and resources for growth and success. From the perspective of UK merchants, more and more livestream success stories are inspiring entrepreneurs and SMEs to join the platform. The launch of the “Million Pound Club” incentive program is creating more “Made By Mitchells” and “Interior Finish Outlets.” Through the introduction of notable welfare policies and emphasis on live streaming strategies, community engagement, and continuous training, TikTok Shop provides growth and innovation opportunities for small merchants while enhancing UK consumers’ acceptance of live commerce through creative marketing and community building, driving the development of the local live commerce ecosystem.

03.The trend of live-streaming e-commerce is reshaping the e-commerce ecosystem in Europe and the US

Live commerce is also reshaping traditional shopping experiences and consumer habits globally. From the perspective of UK local users, the habit of shopping through live commerce is gradually forming. According to Retail Economics report data, over half of UK users have shopped via social media platforms, with TikTok standing out, where 44% of users report having purchased products directly from TikTok Shop, and a quarter of TikTok users stating they shop on the platform at least once a month.

Retail Economics report shows that 44% of UK users have purchased products on TikTok

This underscores the prevalence of TikTok Shop’s live commerce shopping method in UK users’ daily shopping routines.

From the overall perspective of the UK retail industry, as the trend of short videos and live streaming commerce gains momentum, local brands and retailers have embraced them as critical sales channels, leveraging live streaming platforms’ wide reach and immediacy to promote products and boost sales, thereby contributing to local economic development. According to Oxford Economics report data, in 2022 alone, TikTok’s SMEs contributed £1.63 billion to the UK’s total GDP, with regions outside London benefiting significantly. That year, UK SMEs’ investments in TikTok advertising and marketing generated £1.2 billion in revenue, with the food and beverage industry benefitting the most (£600 million).

Image source: TikTok UK’s Socioeconomic Impact Study Report, Oxford Economics, 2022

From the perspective of local brands and sellers, TikTok’s live streaming commerce model offers small businesses and individual creators opportunities to showcase and sell products, bringing more niche and innovative products into consumers’ view.

TikTok Shop is defining a new shopping culture that seamlessly blends entertainment, discovery, and shopping. With TikTok Shop’s support, niche market merchants grow rapidly, establishing strong sales and brand recognition through live streaming and community engagement. A prime example of “closely linking interests with shopping” is Doug's Vintage, the first merchant on TikTok Shop specializing in vintage Pokémon cards. This small shop originated when founder Josh accidentally rediscovered his precious Pokémon card collection during a move. After trying other platforms, he chose TikTok Shop as the next platform for expanding sales. Within two months of joining TikTok Shop, Doug's Vintage achieved total sales exceeding £100,000, with a single livestream generating sales of over £15,000. Crucially, through TikTok Shop, he quickly built a highly engaged community among collectors and buyers. On one hand, he shares his extensive card collection knowledge and products through livestreams, while on the other hand, he gathers a group of like-minded vintage Pokémon card enthusiasts, breaking traditional shopping limitations through community-driven outreach.

Image source: @dougsvintage

This unique and innovative “discovery e-commerce” shopping model is more appealing in stimulating consumer interest and engagement, making TikTok Shop an excellent platform for product discovery and consumer interaction.

According to NielsenIQ, TikTok, as a social platform, not only attracts a broad user base but also successfully connects with shoppers of all ages. Over 70% of respondents indicated that after seeing relevant content on TikTok, they would take further action to explore products or brands. Additionally, 68% of respondents said they would shop on TikTok Shop. Especially as TikTok Shop witnesses online growth for brands and merchants, it is becoming a vital bridge between brands and consumers, driving innovation and development in the e-commerce industry in mature European and American markets. With its unique “discovery” feature, TikTok Shop provides an interactive and experience-rich shopping platform for brands and consumers, leading the growth storm in the UK live commerce industry and presenting significant opportunities to radiate across European markets. The trend of live streaming commerce is reshaping the e-commerce ecosystem in Europe and the US. The newly launched “Million Pound Club” incentive program is a further step in tapping into the potential of live commerce. As its unique live commerce model gains recognition in the UK and US markets, the introduction of incentive programs like the “Million Pound Club” positions TikTok Shop to continue leading the e-commerce markets in the UK and globally, creating more value for merchants and consumers.