"Shoppertainment": Why You Feel Like Spending Whenever You're on TikTok

(SPOT.ph) Next to Christmas, the summertime is TikTok Philippines’ busiest season. We don't just mean in terms of the amount of people taking part in the endless scroll. Brands are finding out just how well this new platform works for commerce, which explains why the urge to shop, book that ticket, note down restaurants, and just spend in general, gets stronger with every swipe up.

Filipinos are set to have a higher online engagement with brands this summer, with plans to shop 1.4 times more compared to the year before. The majority of them are also willing to spend more if there are special promos for the summer season, according to the TikTok Summer Trends and Insight Report.

The same report found that three in four users have plans to travel locally or internationally, so a content boom in resorts, beach activities, road trips, sightseeing adventures, and food hunts is expected within the next two months. Businesses taking the opportunity to hop on these trends can be great for brand awareness.

Of course, with travel comes the intention to look good and eat well. Some 81% of TikTok users are planning to buy fashion products, while 66% are looking forward to buying summer eats and drinks. Top food-related hashtags at the moment include #icecream, #chocolate, and even #jollibee.

You don’t have to be a big brand to take part and succeed in TikTok’s concept of "Shoppertainment" either. That’s exactly where its appeal lies, both for the seller and maybe even you scrolling on your FYP.

Also read: TikTok's Top Tip to Sellers: Tickle Audiences, They'll Add to Cart

What sets TikTok apart from other e-commerce platforms?

TikTok’s approach has always been “entertainment first, commerce second.”

This concept of "Shoppertainment" is how brands can optimize online presence by providing entertaining or educational content before inviting users to shop. According to the platform, hashtags like #budolfinds and #TikTokMadeMeBuyIt have racked up over 35 billion views.

The result? Over half of users say that advertisement on TikTok blends in with the content they consume (in due part of its highly personalized algorithm). This kind of setup doesn’t make users feel like they’re being advertised to. What’s more, 73% of users say they feel deeper connections to brands on TikTok than on other apps they use.

For brands looking to explore this option, TikTok Vertical Lead Life Cervero said that having a good mix of organic and paid content is the way to go: “Having both in your ecosystem really helps to achieve what you want to do.”

In fact, "Shoppertainment" has become so successful that TikTok opted to finally set up shop in its platform. Its Shopping Center tab just rolled out in the Philippines earlier this month, which takes users to its shopping portal with one click. It looks a lot like your typical e-commerce platform so there is barely any learning curve.

The Philippines is among the top eight countries in the world with the most TikTok users at over 40 million in 2023.

Also read: TikTok Now Has 1 Billion Users, 9 Times the Philippine Population