3 Reasons Why Retailers Must Use TikTok to Grow Their Business

I grew up with a self-employed retail family. Our "family trips" to other cities always involved going to a trade show or to see a new vendor. As a child, I felt slighted and disappointed that these "family trips" were really focused on work.

However, as I got older and began working in my family’s stores, my perspective changed. I began to look forward and yearned to go to other cities for trade shows and to meet new vendors. It was exciting to see what was new, fun, trending and up-and-coming in the marketplace.

Today, I no longer work in retail and am the founder/owner of a boutique digital marketing agency. Yet that yearning for wanting to know what’s new, fun, trending and up-and-coming in the marketplace still drives me — it drives me to spend time as a user on TikTok to observe the new, fun, trendy and up-and-coming things, then assist my clients in using TikTok's platform to grow their businesses.

TikTok for Business

I began using TikTok on the backend (i.e., the paid ads side of TikTok) in March 2023, and have been invited by TikTok Inc. to be part of several marketing panels. One of those invitations was for an exclusive TikTok for Business workshop at the TikTok for Business offices in Austin, Texas.

Over these past years and during the TikTok for Business Workshop with the corporate product managers, I've learned a lot and want to share with you these three things:

1. Users Are on TikTok Longer Than Any Other Platform

On average, according to Statista, users are staying on TikTok and consuming video content for 52 minutes a day, 20 minutes longer than Facebook. This extended time gives more exposure to your retail brand and provides the opportunity for audience expansion.

2. TikTok is NOT Just for Kids

Almost 33 percent of TikTok's users are over the age of 40. This user demographic has grown 5.5x since January 2021. According to Pew Research, approximately 40 percent of U.S.-based TikTok users earn more than $50K/year.

This creates a great opportunity for retail businesses and brands to target TikTok users who are over 40 years old, who are typically decision makers and who have income for products like yours.

If your target audience, your avatar, is 24-35, representing another 33 percent of the TikTok user market in the U.S., then your retail business is in the perfect position to target this demographic, who have grown up in the digital age. Using fun, entertaining videos to showcase your company, your brand will help you sell more product to this "non-kid" group too. (Note: Statista data shows the U.S. has the most TikTok users in the world.)

3. Purchases on TikTok Continue to Increase

TikTok in-app spending increased by 85 percent (up to $1.7 billion) in the first half of 2022. One of the social platform's most trending hashtags is #TikTokMadeMeBuyIt.

TikTok is 100 percent video-based, and video is proven to increase purchase intent by 97 percent! Not only are TikTok users staying in the app longer than any other social media platform, they're diverse in age, earn higher-than-average wages, and are willing to part with their money to purchase products like yours on TikTok.

Know. Like. Trust.

TikTok serves users (i.e., your potential customers) the content that meets their current wants.

If you have an online shop, a brick-and-mortar location, or a combination of both, when consumers are able to emotionally relate to businesses and brands on a personal level via video, they're more likely to know, like and trust you.

When consumers know, like and trust you business, your online shop, your brick-and-mortar location, and/or the combination of both of these types of businesses,  they're more likely to purchase products from you and you're able to grow your business.

Louie Bischoff is the founder/owner of the boutique digital marketing agency Next Right Thing Marketing Solutions.