Chris Pearce spoke to Retail Gazette about the rise of TikTok Shop and what it means for grocery retail. As viral recipes turn into real sales and social-first shoppers grow in number, platforms like TikTok are becoming unexpected but powerful routes to market. Pearce shares why supermarkets are well placed to ride the wave — and why fresh food might be the next frontier.
At least one product that you could also buy in a supermarket is now sold every minute on the platform, with TikTok reporting its grocery sales are up 180% year-on-year.
“Demand for buying fresh food from TikTok shop is latent amongst the general population but significantly growing, particularly amongst younger consumers” comments Pearce.
Pearce explains that supermarkets are uniquely positioned to capitalised on the viral trends for certain grocery items.
“Most supermarkets have far greater distribution and purchasing power than the typical, smaller TikTok shop retailer. Therefore it’s an opportunity for them to supply similar items in higher volumes,” Pearce says.
“Plus, it is a great opportunity for supermarkets to engage with different audiences that may well be social commerce first and grow their penetration from there.”
TikTok Shop might not be a new route to market for some of the UK’s biggest supermarkets, but it is proving a valuable tool in engaging with customers and driving in-store sales.
Read the full article at Retail Gazette.
