TikTok Shop: the latest retail frontier for pet brands

Video hosting giant TikTok’s shopping function is quickly becoming crucial to pet players who want to tap into a younger audience. With around 80% of US online users aged between 16 and 34 years engaging with the app, interest is rapidly ramping up.

A brush with success

TikTok Shop is currently available in Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Thailand, UK, US and Vietnam.

Since the shopping platform was launched in the UK in 2022, TikTok says that pet brands with a presence on the channel are enjoying success.

TikTok shares with PETS International the example of pet brand Groomi Pet Care, which became the first pet business in the UK to hit £1 million ($1.3M/€1.18M) in sales on its platform. “[Groomi’s] pet brush became the top-selling item in the pets category in 2023, accounting for 95% of its total revenue,” says a spokesperson.

Herbal Dog, another UK-based pet business, is also exhibiting strong growth within this segment on the platform with its herbal supplements, natural grooming products and pet treats. It is believed that it is generating monthly sales of around £100,000 ($132,800/€118,850).

Content partnership

One of the latest pet businesses to join TikTok Shop in the US – launched in September last year – is cultured meat producer CULT Pet Food.

The firm is currently partnering with over 1,000 TikTok creators and affiliates to create content that showcases the benefits of its sustainable pet food products.

“By getting them samples for their pets to try and incentivizing them with a percentage of sales, we feel we can reach a much larger demographic than by just putting out content ourselves,” says company CEO Mitchell Scott.

The initial signs of growth in the platform are promising and it is going to be one of its most important online sales channels moving forward. “On TikTok, it is much easier to build the brand by educating and entertaining potential consumers with video content,” he notes.

According to data-gathering company Statista, TikTok is projected to reach close to $18.5 billion (€16.6B) in ad revenue on a global scale this year.

European consolidation

TikTok plans to launch its in-app shopping platform in Spain and Ireland this year and expand to more European countries in 2025. However, the expansion across the continent also comes with regulatory scrutiny.

Recently, the platform made commitments under the European Union’s new social media law, the Digital Services Act (DSA), which aims to protect users from online risks. As part of these promises, TikTok will permanently withdraw its reward-to-watch feature, a gift voucher program tied to screen time in its TikTok Lite app for EU users.

How can pet brands use TikTok?

TikTok offers different ways for brands to promote their products so that customers can shop directly from ads on the platform:

• LIVE Shopping: allows brands to showcase products in real-time during livestream videos, where viewers can tap on pinned products and purchase without leaving the app
• Shoppable Videos: short, in-feed clips that feature product links, making it easy for users to shop while scrolling, with videos typically lasting 9 to 15 seconds
• Product Showcase tab: acts as a catalog, allowing brands to display a wide range of products for users to browse and purchase directly