• by Colin Kirkland , December 10, 2024

TikTok Shop – the social media company's budding ecommerce platform -- is launching in Spain.

With a ban looming in the United States and the success of its Black Friday sales, the ByteDance-owned company is planning a wider European rollout and the adoption of livestream shopping in the West.

According to the company, TikTok users in Spain are now able to browse catalogs and digital storefronts while making in-app purchases through shoppable videos and Live Shopping streams on their For You Feed. Soon, businesses and creators in the region will also be able to sell products to consumers on the app.

Initial testing rounds of TikTok Shop in Western regions -- especially in the U.K. -- were met with consumer dissatisfaction and poor sales, although the company offered monetary incentives to content creators.

For years, TikTok has been attempting to translate its sister company Douyin's live-shopping successes in China, but has struggled to interest a significant number of users from Europe and the U.S. in the initiative.

Last year, for example, Douyin generated over $500 billion in product sales, while TikTok generated less than $4 billion.

However, the company made gains in the U.S. this holiday season, amassing over $100 million in single-day sales on Black Friday as well as a 165% increase in shoppers year-over-year, and showing newfound promise for its ability to compete with online retailers like Amazon, Temu and Shein.

If it achieves more success than initial testing rounds, TikTok's live shopping initiative’s official launch in Europe may influence a larger shift in consumer shopping behaviors, as well as the way major online retailers utilize the creator economy in the future.

TikTok Shop's launch in Spain comes a day after ByteDance and TikTok asked a federal appellate court to halt a law that could result in a U.S. ban on the app by next month unless the social network divests from Chinese ownership.

Both companies say they plan to ask the Supreme Court to review the ruling.