TikTok Provides Direct Shopping Features Through Shopify

JAKARTA - Canadian e-commerce giant Shopify Inc said on Tuesday August 24 that it is partnering with TikTok to work on a feature that will allow shoppers to buy directly from social media apps.

According to the company's sources, merchants on Shopify who have a TikTok business account will soon be able to add a shopping tab to their profile for the first time.

The pilot version is currently available to users in the US and UK and the company will roll out in additional territories in the coming months.

Social media giants including Facebook Inc, Alphabet's YouTube and Twitter have also recently invested heavily in shopping features to drive sales growth.

Companies are vying for a share of the so-called social commerce industry, which relies on users' ability to find and buy products through social media apps.

This trend is expected to increase to $50 billion from $36 billion in annual sales by 2023 in the United States according to research firm eMarketer.