From a Hobby to a Multi-Million Dollar Company: Is TikTok the Future of Shopping?

Image caption, Daisy Kelly (left), founder of the brand "Glow For It", showcases her products live via the "TikTok Shop" app in the United Kingdom.

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Daisy Kelly was inspired to start her business from a personal problem: she had a habit of pulling out her eyelashes for years.

She used to hide this habit with eyelash extensions, but when beauty salons closed during the coronavirus pandemic, Daisy decided to create a liquid treatment to help regrow her lashes.

She founded the company "Glow For It", which started in her mother's kitchen in 2020 when she was still a student, and today her business generates sales of £6 million ($8 million) annually.

More than 40% of Daisy's sales come from TikTok Shop in the United Kingdom, and increasingly from live streaming.

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Daisy, 27, says: 'I think live shopping gives people that connection and interaction we all crave... We've already generated revenue exceeding £100,000 ($133,780) in a single 12-hour live stream on TikTok.'

She adds: 'It has completely transformed my business.'

Image caption, Daisy Kelly, founder of 'Glow For It'

Daisy's business broadcasts live from the studio for at least six hours a day, with various hosts interacting with shoppers, from showcasing products to answering their questions.

Daisy says: 'It's like having 500 people in your store.'

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A wide range of platforms and marketplaces now offer live streaming services that connect sellers with customers, from Instagram Live, YouTube Shopping, to eBay and Amazon Live.

And they all differ from each other.

It seems that live shopping has become part of the daily consumer behavior for many.

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New research by retail marketing agency 'Savvy Marketing' has shown that 30% of shoppers surveyed bought something from live stream shopping.

Catherine Shuttleworth, CEO of Savvy, says: 'Major retailers must seize this opportunity. This sector has gone from nothing to a huge phenomenon in record time. If you don't have a live selling strategy, you're missing out.'

Image caption, Mani Malik from 'Malik Butchers'

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TikTok Shop has announced that its sales in the United Kingdom grew by more than 30% year-on-year in June, with live stream shopping being the fastest-growing format.

The company says it now sees more than 6,000 live streams daily.

At an event held at the historic Covent Garden market, dating back centuries, TikTok Shop hosted 20 small businesses with stalls selling their products directly to customers across the UK.

Mani Malik, a butcher selling halal meat in Wolverhampton, using only a smartphone, a lighting kit, and a fridge full of fresh meat, managed to attract about 200 viewers to his session.

Malik says: 'Last week, we did a three-hour live stream on TikTok and sold meat worth £8,000 ($10,702).'

It would usually take three to four days to sell that amount at the family store, 'Malik Butchers.'

They are now opening a second store in Stoke. He says TikTok is driving their expansion, but there are fees.

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TikTok Shop in the UK takes up to nine pence from every pound of goods sold through the platform as a standard commission.

In comparison, commercial sellers on eBay typically pay between 6.9 and 14.9 pence (about $0.09 to $0.20) depending on the product category. Businesses selling via eBay Live incur total fees of up to 8.42 pence ($0.11), including payment processing costs.

Mani says 'that's a lot.'

He adds: 'For us in the meat trade, there are no huge profit margins. However, it has given us a new platform. We didn't have these sales before TikTok. We're not making losses; we're making enough profit.'

Image caption, Pocket Sevic, founder of 'Adorina'

Pocket Sevic (34) founded her jewelry brand 'Adorina' in February, after leaving her traditional job as a business manager.

Her new venture has seen remarkable growth, with orders rising from 50 per month to 500 per week since she started live selling on TikTok Shop in the UK in May.

She has moved from working on her dining table to selling products via live stream from a small unit, where orders are now prepared and packed.

She laughs: 'It's madness.'

The demand for Pocket Sevic's products has become so high that she is trying to hire someone to help.

But for Pocket, the best part of live selling is the flexibility.

She explains: 'I can start a live stream whenever I want... That means it's perfect for me as a mother; I can put my daughter to sleep and then immediately start a live stream and make some sales.'

The latest Savvy survey of shoppers also found that 66% of Gen Y and Gen Z shoppers said seeing products sell out or go viral made them more likely to buy.

This is a concern for the free debt advice service 'Money Wellness', where Rebecca Lamb, head of media relations, warns that live shopping events are a 'recipe for overspending.'

Rebecca Lamb says: 'Every time you snatch a tempting deal before it sells out, your brain gets a dopamine hit. It's the same thrill you get from gambling.'

She adds: 'Because many of them offer one-tap payment, there is no card, no shopping cart, no total; often you've spent the money before your brain realizes it.'

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