What is the TikTok Shop, and how does TikTok Shopping work in Switzerland?

TikTok is one of the most popular social media platforms in the world. A total of 1.5 billion users have already downloaded the app. The concept? Short videos that constantly refresh in the feed and captivate users.

What sets TikTok apart from other social media platforms is that it isn’t really that social. The focus isn’t so much on interacting with people as it is on entertainment.

But that’s not all! TikTok users—especially those in Generation Z—are, on average, very eager to shop and regularly find inspiration for new products on TikTok—whether it’s fashion, makeup, or electronics.

Product marketing on TikTok just got even easier for e-commerce companies: With the TikTok Shop feature, they can create a product catalog on TikTok and link their products in short videos.

Although this feature is not yet available in Switzerland, you can still take advantage of some of its functions— if you know how to create your own product catalog and link it to an external online store.

In this article, you’ll learn exactly what TikTok Shopping is all about, how to prepare for the feature in Switzerland, and what advertising options are already available to Swiss e-commerce companies on TikTok.

Let’s go!

That’s how the platform describes its integrated store. But what exactly does that mean?

The TikTok Shop is, therefore, a built-in feature that allows e-commerce companies to sell their products on TikTok. Products are linked in feed videos, and purchases are also completed directly through TikTok.

So TikTok itself does not sell any products; rather, it simply serves as a sales platform for other companies.

Anyone who wants to sell products through the TikTok Shop must first create what is known as a seller account.

The rest is pretty intuitive. As an e-commerce business, you can create a TikTok Product Catalog, link products in videos, and handle the entire sales process directly through TikTok.

Users, on the other hand, can purchase products linked in videos or access the store through the TikTok dashboard. This allows them to search for and buy products directly within the app.

To make searching easier, the TikTok Store features daily deals and organizes products by category.

The TikTok Product Catalog is created through TikTok Ads Manager and contains all the information about the products you want to sell on TikTok.

You can upload photos and images, create product descriptions, enter sizes and variations, set prices, and update product availability.

The TikTok Product Catalog is therefore the foundation for TikTok Shopping Ads and ensures that users can view all the details about your product.

TikTok Shop and TikTok Showcase are two similar but distinct features.

TikTok Shop is an integrated feature for e-commerce businesses that want to sell their products online through the app.

TikTok Showcase, on the other hand, is a feature for creators and influencers. With TikTok Showcase, creators can set up a showroom on their profile where they can promote products from other brands and earn a small commission.

There’s a good reason why 15 million sellers have already signed up for TikTok Shop. The sales platform offers e-commerce businesses several advantages:

• Low commissions: One of the key advantages of TikTok is its low commissions. While Amazon keeps approximately 8 to 15% per purchase, the commission on TikTok is only up to 8%.
• Easy Setup: Plus, setting up a TikTok Shop is super easy. Businesses can create their own product catalog and complete purchases directly through TikTok without having to build their own online store.
• Video Integration: Products can be linked directly within videos, allowing users to be reached right where they spend the most time: consuming short-form content!
• Wide Reach: In Switzerland, nearly 3 million adults use TikTok. Worldwide, the number is in the billions. That’s an enormous reach, meaning your content will be seen by a large number of users.
• New Target Audiences: About a quarter of Swiss TikTok users are not on Instagram. Although the two platforms are similar and appeal primarily to the younger generation, you’ll miss out on many potential customers if you skip TikTok and market your products only on Instagram.
• Effective Influencer Marketing: TikTok is one of the most important platforms for influencer marketing, which is extremely profitable for e-commerce companies. The younger generation, in particular, trusts the opinions of their idols and regularly buys products recommended by influencers or celebrities. Influencers can link directly to your products in their videos via the TikTok Shop and generate sales for you around the clock—whether you’re sitting in the office or lounging on the beach.

Like all advertising and sales platforms, TikTok has not only advantages but also disadvantages.

• Not available in Switzerland: As mentioned earlier, the TikTok Shop is not (yet) available in Switzerland. However, there are other advertising options on the platform, which we’ll discuss in the next section.
• Paid Ads: For your products to be discovered on TikTok at all, you need to create paid ads. This is likely one of the reasons why the commission on TikTok is so low.
• More suited for younger audiences: If you want to reach an older audience, TikTok is probably not the right choice. That’s because this app is mainly used by Gen Z and Millennials.

That’s all well and good, but what’s the point for me in Switzerland, where the TikTok Shop isn’t available yet?

Don’t worry! Even though the built-in shop isn’t available in Switzerland yet, there are still ways to market and sell products on TikTok.

Swiss companies and retailers can continue to run TikTok Ads. There are several different formats available:

• In-Feed Ads: The standard form of TikTok advertising is inserted directly into the feed, allowing it to blend seamlessly with the videos users are watching.
• TopView: For an additional fee, you can also run TopView Ads, which play when the app is opened and can be up to 60 seconds long.
• BrandTakeover: While TopView ads play after the app is opened, BrandTakeover ads appear as soon as the app is opened—and thus before any other videos. However, users see this ad only once a day.
• SparkAds: With SparkAds, you can boost videos to increase their reach. These can be videos you’ve created yourself or videos from influencers promoting your products.
• Brand Effects: Last but not least, you can also offer users your own effects to draw attention to your brand. These could include stickers or AR effects, for example.

Just because you can’t use the official TikTok Shop doesn’t mean you have to miss out on TikTok Shopping Ads!

In Switzerland, you can still market products on TikTok and link them to an external online store, such as your Shopify store. In addition, you can create your own product catalog and upload it to TikTok.

This means you can also run ads on TikTok in Switzerland. The only difference is that you can’t use TikTok as a full-fledged sales platform and must link your products to an external online store.

In-app purchases and payment processing via TikTok are not yet available in Switzerland. However, you can create Video Shopping Ads for TikTok and link them to an external online store. Here’s how it works:

1. Create a TikTok Business Account.
2. Next, you can create your own product catalog in TikTok Ads Manager. To do this, you can either upload products manually or use plugins for Shopify and WooCommerce to generate automatic product feeds.
3. You can now create dynamic TikTok Shopping Ads linked to your product catalog. For the campaign, select either the “Conversions” or “Catalog Sales” objective.
4. You can now use the ads to link to external online stores where you can make sales.

TikTok is repeatedly criticized for its handling of data privacy. The company is owned by ByteDance, which is subject to Chinese security laws. As a result, TikTok is also suspected of sharing user data with the Chinese government.

Several countries have already banned the use of TikTok on work devices. In 2023, however, TikTok began storing data on European servers to address privacy concerns.

In addition, users can personalize their data management settings in the app, disable location access, and request or delete stored data.

Our social media agency, onlineKarma, has been helping e-commerce companies market their products on social media since 2009. And of course, TikTok is a must!

Although the TikTok Shop isn’t yet available in Switzerland, we ‘ve had positive experiences with ads on TikTok . If you’d also like to take the next step on TikTok and market your products through the platform, you’ve come to the right place!

We develop a results-driven marketing strategy and run ads on TikTok that will boost your conversions and drive higher revenue for your e-commerce business.

Curious? Then feel free to contact us for a free initial consultation and find out what’s possible with TikTok!

Although the TikTok Shop isn’t yet available in Switzerland, the platform still offers plenty of potential for e-commerce businesses. The app is especially popular among the younger generation, so you can significantly expand your social media reach with TikTok.

In addition, an analysis by AgencyAnalytics shows that TikTok achieves higher conversion rates than other social media platforms. For e-commerce companies, the app has become indispensable.

Many well-known brands confirm this as well. Weleda, for example, reports positive experiences with TikTok Shop in the U.S. and is already gearing up for its launch in Switzerland.

That’s why we at onlineKarma recommend that e-commerce companies start preparing now for the launch of TikTok Shop and, in the meantime, connect TikTok Shopping Ads to an external store.

Do you need help with this? If so, please feel free to contact us for a no-obligation initial consultation!