Let’s unwrap this…..

Early indicators suggest that TikTok Shop is poised for an excellent season, with its overall ranking in online beauty sales moving from 5th position in Q3 to 4th in the latest 30 days. TikTok’s market share peaked in the latest week as they capitalized on Singles Day (11th November) to promote offers across the beauty category—an online shopping event typically only seen within the APAC region. Notable successes were achieved by TikTok favourites, made by Mitchell and PLouise, who crafted specific bundle deals and offers with consumer savings exceeding 50%. With made by Mitchell engaging users through an abundance of activations and Live events and Plouise partnering with TikTok powerhouse Mikayla Nogueira, we anticipate these brands will have further TikTok success ahead this year.

Q4 is crucial for fragrance, traditionally constituting more than 50% of annual sales. To date, TikTok has tended to under trade in fragrance versus cosmetics, potentially due its precedence with lower priced “dupes”. More recently however, higher average spending by consumers on brands such as Sol de Janeiro and Ariana Grande perfumes suggest that this segment is set to experience significant growth within TikTok shop.

2023 to date, has seen indie brands experience the greatest success on TikTok shop (1. Made by Mitchell, 2. PLouise, 3. Nature Spell, 4. BPerfect, 5. The Beauty Crop). More recently, with retailers such as Lookfantastic and Cult Beauty establishing their own presence in TikTok shop, we can expect to see a greater presence of more mass brands on the platform. However, with 220k and 72k followers respectively, these retailers have some ground to cover to reach the impressive heights of PLouise at 2.5M and made by Mitchell at 680k*.

When considering TikTok Shop we should understand it is more than an online retail outlet, this is “social commerce”. The platform model from awareness to conversion must be fully utilised for success. Without a robust influencer model and a substantial follower base to drive traffic, it falls short. In addition, consider also that most purchases here are often impulse driven and at a lower price point. While it may seem like an ideal strategy for customer trial and acquisition, it’s essential to contemplate the scenario where users return to TikTok Shop for repurchases, transforming it into a premier online shopping destination for beauty. With substantial sales promotions and discounted prices, who can blame them?

*Foxintellience by NIQ UK online ecommerce panel. Data to 12^th November 2023 

** Ranking based on value sales, year to date 12^th November 2023

*** As at 22^nd November 2023