Shopify sellers can now boost their businesses more easily on TikTok

• Shopify merchants will be able to launch "shoppable video ads" directly in the TikTok feed, which take customers straight to the store, thanks to a new partnership between the e-commerce platform and the video app.
• Merchants will be able to generate TikTok videos "in minutes," and access features from the TikTok For Business Ads Manager via the Shopify dashboard.
• Merchants can also claim $300 in ad credits to launch their first TikTok campaign.

TikTok has kick-started its commerce partnership with ecommerce platform Shopify.

Shopify merchants will be able to launch "shoppable video ads" directly in the TikTok feed, which will take customers straight to the merchant's store, $4.

The two companies will also collaborate to "test new commerce features" over the coming months to help merchants' expand both their paid and organic reach, but didn't expand on this.

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Merchants can use the new TikTok sales and marketing channel on Shopify to select which product they would like to feature. TikTok's software helps merchants to generate TikTok videos "in minutes" using ready-made templates, which they can customize with their brands' imagery and videos. The ads will then drive shoppers to their Shopify stores for checkout.

The new TikTok channel means Shopify merchants can access core functions of the TikTok For Business Ads Manager without leaving the Shopify dashboard. As well as launching ads, merchants can use the software to target specific audiences and track ad performance.

Eligible merchants can also claim $300 in ad credits to launch their first TikTok campaign, TikTok said.

Shopify has channels for other social media, search platforms, and marketplaces including Facebook, Google, Amazon and Walmart.

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The "first-of-its-kind commerce partnership" will support Shopify's more than one million merchants, who can reach new and highly engaged audiences through TikTok's global scale, $4.

Merchants "need to be wherever their customers are spending time," it added, and so brands should grow their social commerce presence.

"We're thrilled to be the first partner to welcome TikTok to the world of commerce, particularly right now, as our merchants prepare for a busy online holiday shopping season," Satish Kanwar, vice president of product at Shopify, said.

The TikTok channel is currently available in the US, and will be launched in markets throughout North America, Europe, and Southeast Asia in early 2021.