Ulta Beauty is now live on TikTok Shop, bringing one of retail’s most recognized beauty retailers into a channel where discovery and purchase increasingly happen side by side. 

For a retailer built on experience, assortment, and community, the move feels like a natural next step. TikTok Shop gives Ulta Beauty a new way to reach shoppers in the moment, when they are discovering a product for the first time, following a trend in real time, or ready to buy without leaving the platform. 

A new channel for beauty discovery, shopping, and growth 

The launch reflects a broader shift in how people shop. More consumers are finding products through content and expecting a faster path from inspiration to purchase. For Ulta Beauty, TikTok Shop offers a more direct path from discovery to checkout in a channel that is already shaping how beauty shoppers browse and buy. 

Rithum served as Ulta Beauty’s integration partner for the launch and ongoing management, supporting the work behind the scenes to bring the new channel to market. The launch builds on the long-standing relationship between the two companies. 

Ulta Beauty’s launch on TikTok Shop reflects how retailers are bringing discovery and purchase closer together. We’re proud to support Ulta Beauty as they expand into this channel and to build on the strong partnership we’ve established over time.

– Blaine Nielsen, President, Retailers at Rithum

The move gives Ulta Beauty a new way to connect with shoppers as they discover and buy on TikTok Shop. It also gives the retailer another way to reach new shoppers while deepening engagement with existing ones. 

A curated experience built for TikTok Shop 

Ulta Beauty’s TikTok Shop launch reflects that strategy through a curated experience designed for the platform, including exclusive bundles, early-access moments, and creator-led discovery. The result is a shop experience that feels native to TikTok while staying grounded in what customers already expect from Ulta Beauty. 

TikTok Shop is an exciting extension of Ulta Beauty’s discovery-led ecosystem, giving us another way to meet guests where the beauty conversation is happening and bring our trusted curation to life in a TikTok-native format. We see this as a complementary, incremental channel, and we appreciate Rithum’s partnership in bringing it to market.

– Josh Friedman, SVP, Digital and Ecommerce, Ulta Beauty

As social commerce continues to grow, TikTok Shop is becoming an increasingly important channel for retailers and brands that want to connect discovery and purchase more closely. Ulta Beauty’s launch extends its discovery-led approach into a new environment. 

The post Ulta Beauty enters TikTok Shop with Rithum as integration partner  appeared first on Rithum.

TL;DR

• “Returnuary” is a myth: January is the second-lowest return month of the year, with a 7.5% average return rate across 8.2M products and 20,000+ suppliers on the Rithum platform
• The real returns crisis is summer: June peaks at 9.35%, July at 8.78%
• TikTok Shop’s U.S. return rate is 0.42%, compared to an 8.25% ecommerce average, meaning traditional channel shoppers are 18x more likely to return a product
• Even in fashion, women’s jeans are 2.4x less likely to be returned via TikTok Shop than through non-social channels.Zalando reduced size-related returns by 10% after implementing more precise sizing tools

Every January, retail teams brace for the post-holiday return wave. It’s become almost a mythical event, with its own nickname: “Returnuary.”

But does it actually exist?

We analyzed return behavior across our more than 8.2 million unique products and 20,000+ suppliers generating billions in global sales. And across three years of data, January consistently ranks as the second-lowest return month of the year, with an average return rate of just 7.5%.

In today’s ecommerce driven gift season, it seems it’s more likely for items to be regifted or recycled to thrift stores than returned.

The actual return crisis is waiting in the sunny summer shadows: June has the year’s highest return rates, with peaks at 9.35%. July follows at 8.78%.

These are driven almost entirely by seasonal apparel. Shoppers buy swimsuits, dresses, and summer pieces sight-unseen, often in multiples, often with the full intention of returning most of them. Two-piece swimwear alone sees return rates as high as 64%.

This pattern has held consistently from 2022 through 2025. While there are nuances to it—retailers who don’t sell clothes likely aren’t hit as hard, for example—the big takeaway is that if your returns strategy is built around January, you’re focusing on the wrong month. The Returnuary monster is a tall tale, distracting from the spikey June lurking around the corner.

Social commerce is cracking returns wide open

In recent returns analysis, we also looked closely at how social commerce is changing the returns landscape.

TikTok Shop’s U.S. return rate is 0.42%.The overall ecommerce average sits at 8.25%. That means shoppers on traditional channels are 18x more likely to return a product than TikTok Shop buyers. The UK TikTok Shop return rate is 0.75%—still a fraction of conventional channel performance.

The instinct is to chalk this up to product type, with the assumption being that TikTok sells cheap, low-consideration items that aren’t worth the hassle of returning.

That’s the easy answer. But we don’t see that holding true. Even in fashion—the highest-return category in all of ecommerce, where 68% of consumers have made a return and traditional return rates run 50-70%—TikTok Shop buyers behave fundamentally differently. Women’s jeans, one of the most-returned items in fashion, are 2.4x less likely to be returned through TikTok Shop than through non-social commerce channels.

The mechanism is straightforward: TikTok gives consumers more confidence before checkout. In traditional ecommerce, a consumer is gambling on product photos and written descriptions. On TikTok Shop, they can see exactly how a product fits on a real body: the stretch, the sizing, the way it looks in motion. There are no surprises at unboxing. Which likely leads to far less bracketing, far fewer returns.

This has meaningful implications beyond TikTok specifically. It’s a green flag about what actually reduces returns: better pre-purchase information. Our last year’s consumer survey of 6,000+ global shoppers backs this up: 39% said better size and fit recommendations would significantly reduce their returns, and 31% say they’d be less likely to return a product if it included real-life customer photos.

Bracketing is a young person’s game. And it’s here to stay.

The summer apparel spike is largely a bracketing problem, and bracketing is a generational one. More than 50% of shoppers under 35 admit to regularly buying more items than they intend to keep, specifically planning to return the rest. Globally, 36% of all consumers do it, with Germany at 43% and the U.S. at 39% leading among surveyed markets.

The behavior is especially entrenched in European markets, where platform refund rates in countries like Austria and Poland can exceed 60% on fashion items. And it accelerates when conditions are favorable: free shipping, generous return windows, and frictionless return processes all make bracketing easier.

The irony is that the policies designed to drive conversion are often the ones amplifying the return problem. One European retail brand implemented a 100-day return window with free logistics. Fashion refund rates soared above 60%. The policy had turned the brand into a fitting room at scale, with all the handling, restocking, and margin erosion that entails.

Friction as a feature

Return friction has traditionally been treated as something to minimize at all costs. The new thinking—and the data—suggests a more nuanced approach.

1 in 5 shoppers says they’ve wanted to return something but didn’t, citing hassle, shipping costs, or distance to drop-off. This intentional friction, placed thoughtfully, can reduce casual returns without damaging the experience for buyers who genuinely need to return.

Return windows are similarly flexible. 51% of global consumers consider a 14-day or shorter window reasonable—and acceptance is even higher in heavy-return markets like Germany (57%) and France (64%). The assumption that consumers expect 30-day windows as a baseline isn’t supported by what consumers actually say they would accept.

Sustainability framing is emerging as another lever, particularly for younger segments. 60% of shoppers say they’d be open to consolidating return shipments to reduce environmental impact. More than half say they’d accept return limits or small fees if positioned as planet-positive. Among Gen Z, 85% say their return behavior is influenced by environmental concerns—the highest of any age group, and a clear signal about where consumer expectations are heading.

Your return policy is a fitting room

The thread running through all of this—the social commerce returns, the summer spike, the bracketing behavior—is that most returns are a pre-purchase problem masquerading as a post-purchase one. And that returns are more complex than they used to be.

But overall, shoppers who know exactly what they’re buying return far less.

The operational and policy fixes are just symptoms. The information gap is the disease.

Close the information gap first. High-quality images, real customer photos, detailed sizing guides, and fit tools are among the highest-ROI investments a retailer can make in return reduction. Zalando reduced size-related returns by 10% after implementing more precise sizing tools. The upfront investment pays for itself quickly.

Build better return policies. Tie free returns to loyalty tiers or order thresholds. Use SKU-level profitability data to determine where you can absorb free return costs and where you need to draw a line. Test variable fees on low-margin products or with repeat returners.

Watch your calendar, not just your categories. If apparel is in your assortment, your peak return exposure is June and July, not January. Other categories might offer similar clues. There is no more singular commerce calendar. Plan inventory, staffing, and return logistics accordingly.

Take social commerce seriously as a returns strategy. Video-driven, creator-mediated product discovery fundamentally changes buyer confidence. That principle is portable across marketplaces: video content, real customer demonstrations, and fit-focused creative reduce returns across channels.

Want to learn more about the nuances of returns and how to prepare? Talk to us. We can help give you specific guidance and guidelines for making returns a profit lever, instead of a loss.

Data caveat: Rithum powers sales on social commerce across fashion, beauty, electronics, and other categories. Data sourced from the Rithum commerce platform, representing 8.2M unique products and 20K+ suppliers generating billions in global sales across ecommerce channels. Results reflect the composition of brands and retailers using the platform.

Gregor Kiddie is a manager, engineering, at Rithum.

The post How to prepare for the return crisis you’re not watching for appeared first on Rithum.

During Black Friday and Cyber Monday 2025, TikTok reported more than $500 million in U.S. sales across four days during Black Friday and Cyber Monday 2025, alongside 760,000 livestream sessions and 1.6 billion views. At Rithum, we saw social commerce orders surging 152% during Black Friday week.  

That’s retail-scale volume moving through a social feed. But many brands and retailers I work with at Rithum still treat social as an awareness engine first, with sales as a nice bonus.  

That made sense when social sent shoppers off-platform. But now, with TikTok Shop and similar platforms keeping the purchases in-app, the social selling ecommerce playbook has changed. As a technical account management manager at Rithum, I have social selling conversations with customers all the time that start the same way: demand looks real, content looks strong, and the plan looks solid. Yet going live is still messier than it should be. This gap often comes from old assumptions of what social selling requires in today’s world of fast-moving demand.  

Social now demands marketplace-level operational rigor. Except on social, you have just days to get it right before the algorithm moves on. Here’s how to get social selling right from the start.  

Rethink marketplace basics for social speed  

TikTok Shop and other social selling ecommerce rewards the same fundamentals that matter on any marketplace: complete product data, very specific categorization, and inventory management that can handle demand fluctuations. 

Strong TikTok Shop catalogs follow clear rules that teams can apply across thousands of SKUs. 

• Product options that stay consistent. Size, color, bundles, and editions need rules that don’t change from SKU to SKU. Inconsistent options lead to wrong selections, support tickets, and returns. 
• Product attributes that help shoppers decide. When teams skip or rush attribute fields, products become harder to classify, harder to surface, and harder to trust. In a feed, listings get a split second to make sense. 
• Category assignments that match TikTok Shop’s category structure. TikTok Shop relies on specific categorization. Misalignment limits where products appear and creates friction during setup. 

At a few hundred SKUs, small inconsistencies can easily be missed. At a few thousand, these inconsistencies turn into misclassified products, messy product options, and avoidable returns. 

Tighten inventory discipline to protect momentum when demand jumps

When Book & Mortar Record Store went live with TikTok Shop, they had an almost immediate viral moment (courtesy of Taylor Swift). Within a few days, Book & Mortar sold 1,600 copies of the “Reputation” vinyl record. Their manual processes couldn’t keep up and as a result, they oversold (read the case study for how they course-corrected here). 

The lesson: on social, inventory accuracy matters most when demand jumps. And demand moves faster on social. When inventory accuracy slips, sales growth momentum turns into customer service work. 

Build for speed from day one 

On TikTok Shop, and all social, time is the biggest constraint. New listings take too long to go live, updates lag, and assortment expansion stalls right as demand grows. 

Going back to Book & Mortar, they saw first-hand what publishing speed enables. After adopting Rithum’s TikTok Shop marketplace integration, they went live by noon the next day and scaled from 30 products per day to up to 1,000. Their Rithum TikTok Shop integration handled quantity management across channels and mapped orders through suppliers. 

That speed is the backbone of TikTok Shop success: adding SKUs, building product options, responding to trends with assortment, and keeping listings current as demand changes. Planning for scale early keeps catalog updates from turning into a manual grind. 

Expect comparison shopping, even with in-app checkout 

TikTok Shop keeps checkout inside the app, but shoppers can still take detours. They see a product on TikTok, then search for it on Google or check a marketplace they already trust, especially if they’re comparing price, shipping speed, or return terms. 

Sellers can work with that behavior instead of fighting it. Keep the same products available across your other channels, and keep the basics consistent—title, images, key attributes, price logic, and inventory. When a shopper leaves TikTok to compare, they should be able to find the exact product again and buy with confidence. 

A simple way to assess social and TikTok Shop readiness 

Before a brand scales creators and content, it helps to pressure-test the basics that keep a TikTok Shop program running smoothly. A few questions surface gaps fast: 

• Can the team publish and update products in bulk, with consistent attributes and product options? 
• Can inventory stay accurate across channels when demand spikes? 
• Can fulfillment match what listings promise, including delivery timing? 
• Can returns handle normal customer behavior, like line-item and partial returns? 
• Can the program keep pace as TikTok Shop releases new requirements and features? 

Treat these as the foundation. Once they’re in place, content and creator strategy can do their job without creating operational whiplash.  

How Rithum can help 

Social channels are now your most fast-paced marketplace channel. The sellers who do well run their TikTok Shop catalog and operations the same way they run their presence on other major marketplaces. But it takes some building. 

Rithum helps sellers reduce that operational lift. Our TikTok Shop integration enables sellers to go live without building that connection from scratch, then managing the fundamentals that keep the channel healthy: publishing at scale, maintaining product attributes and categorization, keeping inventory accurate across channels, and routing orders without turning spikes into manual cleanup.  

About Rithum and TikTok Shop 

As a TikTok Shop partner, Rithum connects product catalogs, streamlines operations, and supports the core commerce workflows that enable discovery, conversion, and growth inside TikTok Shop. 

Learn more about how Rithum supports TikTok Shop sellers

The post Your TikTok Shop is a marketplace now. Is your product feed ready? appeared first on Rithum.

*Update: On April 4th, President Trump announced a 75-day extension, with the new deadline set to June 19, 2025. We’ll provide more details as they unfold, but the basics of this blog remain true: it’s an uncertain landscape, and preparation is key.*

For the past year, TikTok Shop has been navigating choppy, uncharted waters, with the storm cloud of a U.S. ban looming on the horizon. As the ever-changing deadline approaches, sellers who’ve ridden the platform’s wave of opportunity are (again) facing tough questions: Will TikTok still be available to my customers? Should I keep investing in my Shop—or investigate other platforms? And most importantly: What happens next? 

At Rithum, we’ve been charting this uncertain journey alongside our clients. While no one can predict exactly how the tides will turn, we’re here to help you read the skies, adjust your sails, and prepare your business for TikTok Shop staying live in the U.S., shutting down services, or continuing in uncertainty with an extended ban deadline.  

The future of TikTok Shop in the U.S.

The Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act (PAFACA) currently gives ByteDance (owner of TikTok) until June 19, 2025 to divest TikTok’s U.S. operations or face a nationwide ban. The platform briefly shut down for 12 hours in January 2025, in accordance with the original deadline. But even when the ban was lifted, for 25 days afterwards the app wasn’t available for download. As of this post, TikTok Shop’s current state is operational as usual for current users and available for new user download. But with the Supreme Court ruling to uphold the ban, the potential for another TikTok Shop shutdown is looming . . . along with another potential extension. Here’s what to plan for in any scenario. 

3 fast answers to the 3 biggest questions

If the TikTok ban goes into effect . . .  

• Will sellers lose all access to their TikTok Shop? Possibly, depending on whether TikTok enacts another shutdown similar to January, or simply stops new downloads and updates.
• Will customers still be able to shop on TikTok in the U.S.? If there’s no total shutdown, yes. But only existing users will have access and the experience could degrade without updates.
• Will TikTok Shop still be available outside the U.S.? Yes. The TikTok Shop continues to thrive globally, with recent expansions into Spain, Ireland, Italy, France, and Germany. 

The big takeaway from the January ban is no one knows how a ban would play out. But even in the worst-case scenario of a complete TikTok shutdown, sellers have options.

Here’s what to prioritize, no matter what happens with TikTok Shop

Priority #1: Optimize TikTok ASAP. Even as deadlines are extended, the murkiness around a TikTok ban continues. If the June deadline turns into a ban, there’s still plenty of opportunity within and outside of TikTok Shop.  

TikTok Shop’s unparalleled algorithm and affiliate network create a unique and engaging social shopping experience. If new users are unable to join in the U.S., the existing user base will become even more valuable as scarcity will help drive demand and sales with a highly engaged audience (assuming TikTok does not shutdown the platform for existing users if a ban were to go into effect). And beyond the U.S., TikTok Shop is still growing, with fresh opportunities for expanding your reach. 

Whatever happens, the first immediate step is to enhance your TikTok presence and shopping experience as much as you can, as soon as you can, to ensure the best user engagement. Over 7 million U.S. businesses use TikTok, and a recent Oxford Economics study estimates that the platform drives $14.7B in revenue for small businesses and a further $24.2 billion in total economic activity.ⁱ While the uncertainty is frustrating, it’s not a reason to divest from the platform—rather, it’s a reason to get as much out of this powerful tool as you can, while you can. TikTok Shop’s global presence is incredibly valuable and will remain so even if a U.S. ban goes into effect (not sure how to capitalize on TikTok’s global audience? Contact us). 

Priority #2: Diversify into additional platforms. As many experienced during January’s ban, relying on TikTok Shop (or any single platform) leaves you vulnerable to disruptions. This is not a TikTok specific issue, but one that commerce leaders have learned throughout digital history. In 2021, a 7-hour Meta outage brought online businesses that relied on the Facebook and Instagram platforms to a standstill.ⁱⁱ As Business Insider put it, you’re “at the mercy of an almighty landlord” when you’re “just renting space” on single platforms.ⁱⁱⁱ  

The takeaway for TikTok sellers: Ride the TikTok Shop wave through these rough seas . . . but have a lifeboat at the ready.  

Priority #3: Lean on Your Platform Partners: Rithum is already integrated with TikTok Shop and other major platforms, including Meta – Shops on Facebook and Instagram, making diversification easier. Our solutions help you prepare for cross-platform shopping by syncing inventory, offers, and customer service across TikTok Shop, Meta, YouTube, and other social channels.

Where will customers go if there’s a ban?

As always, the best way to reach customers is to go where they shop, scroll, and socialize. If TikTok disappears in the U.S., TikTok users will still be online: they’ll just migrate elsewhere. When India banned TikTok in 2020, Instagram rushed out Reels with India as the beta-tester . . . and within two years Reels accounted for 20% of time spent on Instagram and became its “fastest-growing content format by far.” Overall, most of India’s TikTok audience shifted to Reels and YouTube Shorts, making India the largest market for both Instagram (362M users) and YouTube (500M users) after TikTok’s exit.^iv On the flip side, businesses that invested only in Facebook during its peak suffered when TikTok exploded in popularity.^v 

After January’s scare, businesses said that Instagram (52%) and YouTube (42%) are the top platforms they plan to invest more into if TikTok Shop goes away in the U.S, with their own websites trailing not far behind (38%).^vi No matter what happens, agility is the biggest advantage. Sellers who can adapt quickly, diversify wisely, and optimize every platform are set-up to survive this disruption, or any similar technology upheaval (remember when X was Twitter?). 

Whether TikTok stays afloat or sails off into the sunset, we’ll help you ride the waves and chart a smart course for every channel. If you’re a current client, contact your account team to evaluate your overarching marketplace strategy. If you’re not yet a client, reach out here so we can get you in touch with our marketplace experts.  

Sources

i. https://techcrunch.com/2024/04/04/hoping-to-stall-a-ban-tiktok-says-it-generated-14-7b-for-us-small-businesses-last-year
ii. https://mashable.com/article/facebook-outage-small-business-impact
iii. https://www.businessinsider.com/facebook-instagram-outage-business-losses-money-2021-10
iv. https://time.com/7208112/what-happened-when-india-banned-tiktok/
v. https://entrepreneurship.babson.edu/businesses-and-tiktok/
vi. https://clarifycapital.com/impact-of-tiktok-ban-on-businesses

The post Get Ready Now: What TikTok Shop Sellers Should Do Before the Potential U.S. Ban appeared first on Rithum.

We’ve analyzed trends that stood out from the five-day period between Thanksgiving through Cyber Monday and how these lessons can impact 2025 e-commerce trends for brands and retailers. Consumers spent more online than ever before, according to Adobe Analytics data. For Rithum clients, AI, social commerce and retail media strategy took center stage. Here’s what brands and retailers are investing in to reach more consumers in 2025.

1. Explosion of product categories for third-party (3P) marketplaces is reshaping e-commerce in 2025.

Brands and retailers will continue to use artificial intelligence (AI) to manage product inventory across multiple sales channels including marketplaces and direct-to-consumer websites. Retailers like Amazon and Walmart use AI for real-time inventory management.

“Walmart’s rapidly expanding assortment presents new challenges to suppliers. However, our latest Walmart Categorizer, now in Rithum’s AI Magic Mapper, ensured seamless migration for hundreds of clients managing millions of SKUs. This highlights Rithum’s leadership in scalable AI solutions,” said Sebastian Spiegler, Director of AI, Rithum.

Rithum is currently focusing on Profitability Benchmarking, which is the process of identifying top channels, pricing strategies and returns insights.

“Profitability Benchmarking at the SKU-level is the ‘holy grail’ for brands. This process is a key 2025 focus area for Rithum and is already being piloted with strategic clients,” Spiegler said.

2. TikTok Shop will continue to revolutionize discovery and influence.

In just one year, TikTok Shop has become one of Rithum’s top 10 sales channels since launching in December 2023. This includes merchant giants like Amazon, Walmart, Target+, eBay and Zalando.

“TikTok’s innovative platform connects content with commerce enabling intuitive product discovery through viral, low-effort videos created by thousands of creators. TikTok account users with only a thousand followers are now product curators, streamlining affiliate marketing and enabling effortless monetization directly in the app,” said Lou Camassa, Director of Product at Rithum.

Currently, Rithum supports TikTok Shop in the US and UK, with launches in Spain and Ireland planned for early 2025.

“This is an incredible proposition for EMEA sellers to tap into a growing and dynamic market,” Camassa said

3. Brands and retailers are being more strategic about retail media budgets.

Consumers continued to shop well before BFCM in October. As a result, Rithum retail media clients spread-out retail media budgets.

“Rithum retail media brands and retailers had to strategically pace their seasonal budgets for a longer peak season before and after BFCM. Specifically, during BCFM week, we advised clients not to over-invest and instead ride a continuous wave of peak seasonality wins while managing the budget thoughtfully. While budget increases only averaged 3%, we were still seeing wins. This included meeting their efficiency goals with an average of 1.7 advertising cost of sales (ACOS) as one example,” said Meghan Barden, director, global retail media, Rithum.

Going into 2025, Barden believes that the promotional holiday period will continue to extend into October and well through the end of December. Clients should be prepared to extend their seasonal budgets to accommodate this length of time. Also, brands and retailers should be open to peaks and valleys in their spend and return. Leveraging product data YoY, such as noting high performing SKUs, is a strategic way to map the seasonal timeframe approach in 2025.

Delve deeper into what’s trending in third-party (3P) commerce in 2025.

Read more about trends in AI, cross-border commerce, social commerce, retail media and supply chain in Rithum’s 2024 State of 3P Commerce Report.

The post 3 E-Commerce Trends from Cyber 5 to Carry Into 2025 appeared first on Rithum.

Maximize peak holiday moments with TikTok Shop

Cyber Five, the five days between Thanksgiving and Cyber Monday, continues to be a pivotal moment for sellers to impact their bottom lines. These key dates offer unmatched opportunities for brands and retailers to gain traction, drive sales and build lasting momentum for the holiday season.

TikTok Shop makes it easier for shoppers to explore products, make purchases and stay engaged – all in one place. In fact, 62% of TikTok users take part in social e-commerce activities on a weekly basis. They are also 1.5 times more likely to purchase after immediately discovering a product on the platform. With Rithum’s TikTok Shop integration, sellers can capture and engage a diverse audience. This can turn views into revenue and followers into longtime customers.

TikTok Shop offers brands and retailers:

• More high-quality traffic: Visibility on purchases improves algorithms to optimize traffic for conversions.
• Expanded visibility: Track real-time performance, traffic, customer reviews and transaction data through TikTok Shop’s analytics dashboards.
• Creator collaboration at scale: Get access to TikTok Shop’s Affiliate Program. It enables sellers to partner with creators and easily grow their business.
• Real-time interaction: Leverage the power of live shopping streams to speak directly with viewers and answer their questions to build trust and interest.

Rithum customers grow on TikTok Shop

In 2023, online retailer Book & Mortar Record Store, LLC began selling directly on TikTok Shop but quickly faced challenges managing its extensive inventory. With thousands of products to list, the store owners were tediously tasked with manually filling out product attribute fields for every SKU, tracking stock levels and mapping out suppliers. This process became cumbersome, costing time and potential sales. An unexpected “viral” surge for a famous artist’s vinyl album led to overselling. The business turned to Rithum to automate selling in TikTok Shop. In the first month of using Rithum, the one retailer’s sales jumped by over 250% from the previous month and grew to 694% by November 2023.

Crazy Dog T-Shirts, a US-based seller of novelty apparel and accessories, manages its product catalog through Rithum. In 2024, the brand engaged TikTok’s Affiliate Program. As a result, received record-breaking sales through the social platform’s network of influencers. One of its t-shirts achieved “Hero Product” status, ranking among the top 30 listings based on sales on TikTok Shop.

TikTok Shop’s Holiday Checklist: A step-by-step guide

To help sellers thrive during the busiest shopping season of the year, TikTok Shop has created a Holiday Checklist. Here’s how to make the most of the platform during Black Friday and Cyber Monday with Rithum:

1. Get started: Sellers can begin by setting up a TikTok Shop account. Then by adding the channel to their Rithum platform account. To sell through TikTok Shop with Rithum, sellers must register their business and have warehouses located in the United States or the United Kingdom.
2. Manage inventory: To avoid overselling or stockouts, Rithum’s automated inventory management helps sellers synchronize inventory quantities across channels to avoid overselling or stockouts. Paired with TikTok’s Analytics Dashboard, sellers can forecast demand and keep up with what shoppers are searching for and buying through the channel.
3. Optimize product listings: Sellers are encouraged to create engaging product descriptions and high-quality visuals to capture audience attention in a crowded space. Rithum can help transform and optimize product data and automate feed delivery by adapting and automating product data to match every channel, so product listings stay consistent and accurate on TikTok Shop and beyond.
4. Connect TikTok Shop to e-commerce platforms: Seamless integration between a seller’s social channel and their existing e-commerce platform is fundamental for managing orders, inventory and product listings. Rithum connects all channels to one unified platform. This makes it easier to manage operations during the holiday rush.
5. Collaborate with creators: One of TikTok Shop’s greatest strengths is its thriving community of over 100,000 creators ready to promote the products they love. With Rithum, sellers can gain access to TikTok Shop’s Affiliate Program to easily partner with creators and grow their business.

Ready to make this holiday season your most successful yet?

Get started selling on TikTok. Learn more about leveraging Rithum’s TikTok Shop integration. Use it to tackle peak shopping days like Black Friday and Cyber Monday with confidence.

The post How to Thrive During Cyber 5 and the Holidays with TikTok Shop appeared first on Rithum.

Why sell through TikTok Shop?

Today’s consumers are turning to social media platforms like TikTok for more than recommendations; they’re using it to complete their purchases online. To meet consumers where they are, sellers are adding TikTok Shop to complement their existing sales channels. By doing so, brands and retailers can engage with new customers while boosting sales and brand visibility.

Brands and retailers are already driving profitable growth by selling through TikTok Shop with Rithum. TikTok sellers on Rithum’s platform grew GMV more than 300% from November 2023 to January 2024.

It’s important to diversify because people comparison shop. A resounding 83% of global consumers will visit two or more websites before buying, according to the 2023 Online Consumer Behavior Global Report by Rithum and research firm Dynata. 72% of consumers said they would go further, visiting two to four websites before converting, according to the report.

Consumers view social media as another channel to shop through. 63% of consumers ages 18-25 said they had been influenced to buy a product after seeing the item promoted by a brand on social media, according to the Rithum and Dynata report.

How can brands and retailers benefit from TikTok Shop?

Today’s consumer looks to content creators for entertainment and advice. TikTok users browse the social media app to connect with content creators or influencers they trust. Here, user-generated content (UGC) is more likely to resonate. Consumers value an authentic shopping experience.

TikTok Shop offers brands and retailers:

• More high-quality traffic: Visibility on purchases improves our algorithms to optimize traffic for conversions.
• More visibility: Track real-time performance, traffic, customer reviews and transaction data through TikTok Shop’s analytics dashboards.
• Creator collaboration at scale: Get access to TikTok Shop’s Affiliate Program, which enables you to easily partner with creators and grow your business.
• Real-time interaction: Leverage the power of live shopping streams to speak directly with viewers and answer their questions to build trust and interest.

How does TikTok Shop work?

Consumers discover products by browsing shoppable content through short videos and live shopping streams. They can select products within these videos and learn more about items on the Product Detail Page. They can then buy by placing orders and completing checkout without leaving the app.

TikTok users can browse and buy in the following ways:

• Shoppable video: Shop directly from a shoppable in-feed video by tapping the product link and basket icon.
• Store page: Shop directly from a brand or creator account and get access to products within the app.
• Live Shopping: Shop directly from a Live, by tapping the pinned products or browsing the shopping basket icon.
• Product detail: Learn everything you need to know about a product from color, sizing, material and more.
• Shopping cart: Add and build a cart with products you discover anywhere in the TikTok app.
• Confirmation: Consumers complete the purchase journey without ever leaving TikTok.

How to start selling with TikTok Shop

Currently, Rithum customers use our TikTok Shop integration to list and sell products in the United States and United Kingdom. To sell through TikTok Shop with Rithum, sellers must register their business and have warehouses located in the United States. Or be a registered business in the U.K. with warehouses located in the United Kingdom.

To get started, sellers must first register through TikTok Shop. You can then add the channel to your Rithum platform account.

How Book & Mortar Record Store LLC achieved record sales with TikTok Shop

Brands and retailers can achieve success in a short amount of time. U.S.-based online retailer Book & Mortar Record Store LLC began selling products through TikTok Shop in August 2023. Owner Eric Auth found he wanted to automate the process along with the rest of his multi-channel commerce strategy. In October 2023 he turned to Rithum to automate selling through TikTok Shop.

During the first month, sales jumped by more than 250% compared with the month prior. In November 2023, sales jumped by 694% and show no signs of slowing.

Auth attributes much of his success to having access to TikTok’s community and automation through Rithum’s platform. Brands and retailers can leverage TikTok’s creator community to help sell products at commission rates set by you, either through direct partnerships with influencers and creators, or through TikTok’s open affiliate platform.

“Rithum has been super helpful with handling orders. I couldn’t do this myself,” Auth said. “The software helps me save time by automating mundane tasks like listing management.”

Learn more about how TikTok Shop with Rithum can help you expand your selling channels and grow profitability.

The post How to Sell on TikTok Shop  appeared first on Rithum.

TikTok Shop is an opportunity for online sellers to reach customers through social commerce – and reach the social media app’s nearly 1 billion active users worldwide.

U.S.-based online retailer Book & Mortar Record Store LLC began selling products directly through TikTok Shop in August 2023. Owner Eric Auth had to manually fill in product attribute fields for each SKU. This proved to be difficult as Book & Mortar sells thousands of products but could only add a few each day.

Further complicating the process, he also had to track each SKU’s stock levels and map out suppliers himself. Each supplier has different ways to submit orders to them, Auth said.

“It was a pain to manage everything manually via Excel,” he said.

The painstaking process of filling out each field for many products costs sellers time – and potential sales. He learned this first-hand after “going viral,” he said. Within a few days, Book & Mortar sold about 1,600 copies of Taylor Swift’s “Reputation” vinyl record. He couldn’t keep up and as a result, oversold.

Is it easy to sell products on TikTok Shop?

In October, Auth turned to Rithum’s TikTok Shop marketplace integration to automate the process. Auth downloaded the app through Rithum on Oct. 5. By noon the next day, he was live and orders rolled in.

“Now, I’m able to add up to 1,000 new products per day and have Rithum’s integration handle the quantity management between all channels. This includes mapping all orders through my suppliers,” Auth said. “It’s like I’m taking a plane instead of walking to my destination.”

TikTok Shop requirements

The integration process was easy, said Auth. Previously, he had to fill in multiple fields for each individual product. This includes information such as category, product themes, images, and other attributes. The online retailer sells thousands of SKUs.

“Now I can upload that information in bulk,” Auth said.

Auth went from adding about 30 separate products a day to 1,000.

Book & Mortar can now confidently sell products trending on TikTok, he said.

When starting, U.S.-based TikTok Shop sellers can publish 100 products per day. Sellers can “graduate” from the New Shop Probation Period. If they qualify, they can add more products to sell per day.

Rithum’s marketplace integration solution allows brands to connect to TikTop Shop. Through onboarding tools and APIs, brands can reimagine the future of social commerce, said Pete Elmgren, Rithum CRO.

“TikTok Shop has the potential to demonstrate the mass appeal of in-app shopping,” Elmgren said. “We’re generating a lot of excitement from brands across our network that want to sell on their platform.”

If you would like to know more, please contact your account executive or contact info@rithum.com. Or fill out a form here.

The post Selling on TikTok Shop: One seller automates with immediate sales boost appeared first on Rithum.