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TikTok Shop: marketplace guide

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About this guide

This is a ChannelEngine guide on the Beijing-based marketplace TikTok Shop. Here you can find information on how to request a TikTok Shop account, how to configure this marketplace on ChannelEngine, what the specific requirements are, and more.

Table of contents

Commercial information

How to request an account

Associated costs

Marketplace features

Settings and configuration

Marketplace-specific requirements and exceptions

Additional information

FAQs

TikTok_front-end.png

Commercial information

Founded 2016
Founder Zhang Yiming
Headquarters Beijing, China
Area served (orders) France, Germany, Indonesia, Italy, Ireland, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Spain, Thailand, United Kingdom, United States, Vietnam
Number of monthly visits circa 2 billion (November 2022)
Website TikTok Shop
Setup cost none
Commission 5%
Other costs none
Payment 14 days after delivery
Product categories almost anything
Input language English
Input currency EUR, GBP, MYR, PHP, SGD, THB, USD, VND
Content creation yes
Minimum number of SKUs no
Advertisement options no
Profile on ChannelEngine TikTok Shop

How to request an account

To start selling on TikTok Shop, go to the TikTok Shop welcome page and create a seller account.

To register in the countries of the European Union (EU), use these links:

Associated costs

TikTok Shop does not charge a setup or monthly fee. However, it does charge a commission fee of 5%.

Marketplace features

Supported Not supported
Offer matching (SKU)1 Marketplace fulfillment services
Product content Repricing
Product offers Refurbished products
Orders2 Sales channels3
Shipments  
HTML formatting  
Cancelations (marketplace)  
Cancelations (merchant)4  
Carrier mapping  
Returns (marketplace)  
Returns (merchant)  
Multiple stock locations  
Last-mile delivery  
Settlements  

1. To match your offers with existing content on TikTok Shop, ensure that the parent and child product SKUs exactly match the SKUs listed on the marketplace. This is a requirement on TikTok Shop.

2. Both orders made directly via the store page and orders made via 'creators'.

3. A marketplace that supports sales channels allows merchants to list and sell products across multiple markets (e.g.: countries, regions, and states), all from the same connection.

4. On TikTok US and UK, a partial cancelation of a single item is only possible when an item is out of stock.

Settings and configuration

Setting up each marketplace on ChannelEngine follows the same flow, though not every marketplace includes the steps listed below.

  1. Go through the Setup.
  2. Create a Product selection.
  3. Complete the Categorization.
  4. Set up the Mappings: content, offers, and carriers.
  5. Configure the Pricing: rules and currency conversion.
  6. Finish the Activation.
  7. Check the Listed products overview.

Marketplace-specific requirements and exceptions

Setup

On ChannelEngine

  1. Using the incognito mode of your browser, log into ChannelEngine and open your TikTok Shop channel.
  2. Go to the Setup page and scroll down to the Authorize ChannelEngine section.
  3. Click Authorize. A popup opens, prompting you to select the account type. E.g.: Asia, Europe, etc.
  4. Log into TikTok Shop's Seller Central using your credentials.
  5. Authorize ChannelEngine to connect with your TikTok Shop account.

On TikTok Shop Seller Center

  1. Go to Shipping, Shipping options and disable the Express shipping and Standard shipping settings.
  2. Enable the Shipped from seller setting. If you fail to enable this setting, all customer information attached to incoming orders is anonymized. Note that customers’ email addresses are always anonymized.

TikTok_Shop_back-end_-_shipping_options.png

Categorization

Categorization is mandatory if you want to create or update existing product information on TikTok Shop. Both categorizations and mappings only result in updates if the content connection is enabled and the relevant credentials have been entered (see the Setup section).

Note that the categories change according to the sales channel you are using. E.g.: the categories in the United Kingdom channel are different from the categories in the Vietnam channel.

Invite-only categories

Some categories on TikTok Shop are invite-only. You can only sell products in these categories if you have prior approval from TikTok Shop. For more information, see the TikTok Shop documentation on invite-only categories for the United States and the United Kingdom.

Mappings

Content

All products (required)

  • Brand - the product's brand, which you are only allowed to use if you are authorized to sell it. Make sure to spell the brand name correctly.
  • Package dimension unit - the packaged product’s dimension measurement unit.
  • Package height - the package's height. Provide a whole number. 
  • Package length - the package's length. Provide a whole number. 
  • Package weight - the package's weight. 
  • Package weight unit - the packaged product’s weight measurement unit. The options are kilograms and pounds, with the latter valid only in the US.
  • Package width - the package's width. Provide a whole number.
  • Product description - the product's description. HTML formatting is supported. The requirements are:
    • The maximum number of characters is 1,000.
    • Organize your selling points into separate paragraphs, each no longer than 250 characters.
  • Product identifier - the product's GTIN, which must be unique per variation. 
  • Product identifier type - the kind of unique code provided in the Product identifier attribute. E.g.: EAN, UPC, ISBN.
  • Product image URL 1 - the parent product's image. The image requirements are:
    • The file formats supported are JPG, JPEG, or PNG.
    • The maximum file size is 5.2 MB.
    • The recommended aspect ratio is 1:1.
  • Product name - the product's title. The requirements are:
    • The maximum number of characters is 188.
    • Capitalize the first letter of each word except conjunctions, articles, and prepositions.
    • Format - [Product Brand] [Product Details] [Application Scope] [Product Type] [Main Features/Functions/Advantages].

All products (optional)

  • Product image URL 2-9 - the product's additional images. The requirements are the same as for Product image URL 1.
  • SKU - the product's SKU. The maximum number of characters is 50.
  • SKU Image URL - the child product's image URL.
  • Warranty period - the product's warranty period. Select a value from the dropdown menu. E.g.: 1 week, 6 months, 5 years, etc. 
  • Warranty policy - the product's warranty policy.

Category-specific

Different product categories may have different attributes, such as attributes related to cosmetic products. For cosmetic products, the following attributes are displayed as optional in Content mappings. However, TikTok Shop requires at least one of them for regulatory compliance. You can leave the other unmapped.

  • Cosmetic labelling file URL 1-3 [required] - the product's detailed labelling information, e.g., ingredients, usage instructions, safety warnings. The file formats supported are PDF and MP4. 
  • Cosmetic labelling image URL 1-3 [required] - the image of the product's label that corresponds to each label file mapped. The requirements are the same as for Product image URL 1.

Some categories of products, such as electronics, tools, beauty, and automotive, may pose a risk to health or safety during shipping, storage, or handling. On TikTok Shop US and UK, you can identify whether certain products contain hazardous materials for regulatory compliance. Hazardous material (a.k.a.: hazmat) attributes are displayed as optional in Content mappings. However, if you map one hazmat attribute, you must map all of the available hazmat attributes to avoid validation errors.

  • Contains batteries or cells - whether the product contains batteries or cells. E.g.: AA/AAA cylindrical battery cells.
  • Battery types - select the battery type from the list, e.g.: alkaline, lithium ion. 
  • How batteries are packed - select how the batteries are packed from the list, e.g.: built-in, battery only. 
  • Number of batteries or cells - the number of batteries or cells.
  • Battery or cell capacity in Wh - the amount of energy stored in the battery or cell, in watt-hours (Wh). Enter a whole number.
  • Battery or cell capacity in grams - the weight of the active material in the battery or cell, in grams.
  • Battery or cell weight in grams - the total weight of the whole cell or battery, in grams. Enter a whole number.
  • Flammable liquid - indicates whether the product contains a flammable liquid.
  • Flammable liquid volume in ml - the amount of flammable liquid the product contains, in ml. Enter a whole number.
  • Aerosol - indicates whether the product is in aerosol form.
  • Aerosol liquid volume in ml - the amount of liquid inside the aerosol container, in ml. Enter a whole number.

For more information, check out the following TikTok Shop documentation:

Offer

Required

  • Original price - the product's price.
  • Warehouse - the ID of the warehouse that is created on TikTok Seller Center. ChannelEngine retrieves the IDs from your TikTok Seller account. To view your warehouse IDs:
    1. On ChannelEngine, go the Setup page of your TikTok Shop channel.
    2. Under Plugin-specific settings, find the Warehouse IDs setting.
    3. Copy the relevant ID and map it to this attribute.

Carrier

Depending on the sales channel you are connected with, the list of carriers available for mapping varies.

Note that TikTok Shop does not support split or multiple order lines. Every order contains a single order line.

Economic operators

Economic operators are entities required by the Digital Services Act (DSA). Economic operators can be manufacturers, distributors, or importers of the product.

As a merchant on TikTok, you must assign an economic operator ID to each product you offer in the EU. To do this, retrieve economic operators from TikTok and map their IDs on ChannelEngine.

To learn more, check out the article ChannelEngine: how to manage economic operators.

Pricing

Depending on the sales channel you are connected with, the default currency varies. If you do not have pricing attributes in the default currency, you need to set up a currency conversion.

Listed products

If you have problems with products not appearing on TikTok Shop, check the Listed products page for more information.

You can either filter based on the Channel status (e.g.: Invalid for all products that ChannelEngine has not exported, such as products with an empty EAN) or check the Validation and feedback tab to see all known validation/feedback errors for specific products. 

Additional information

Order extra data items

When an order is imported to ChannelEngine, ChannelEngine also fetches extra data items related to the order itself – or to order lines. This extra data is specific to this marketplace. An explanation of each can be found below: 

Order extra data

Keys Conditional* Description
package_id No The ID of the package. E.g.: the first value of PackageList in the order details.

* Conditional fields are only displayed if the marketplace provided a value.

Last-mile delivery

TikTok Shop offers a last-mile delivery service. To configure it on ChannelEngine, follow the process in the ChannelEngine: last-mile delivery and shipping labels article (steps 3 and 5 of the Shipping label section do not apply to TikTok). Note that shipping labels become available after you arrange shipping for a package and before you hand it over to the carrier.

For the APAC region only, you can specify a desired pickup slot when creating a shipment via the API (step 1 of the Shipping label section). To do this, use the pickup_slot_start_time and pickup_slot_end_time extra data fields, formatted as Unix timestamps. E.g.:

"ExtraData": {
 "pickup_slot_start_time": "1742552387",
 "pickup_slot_end_time": "1742573987"
}

FAQs

I cannot see the buyer's address on Thai orders. What is wrong?

As in most other Southeast Asian sales channels, the full order details are hidden from merchants on TikTok Thailand. However, the carrier selected to fulfill each shipment does receive all required details to deliver the order.

What does the error 'Product status invalid' mean?

The 'Product status invalid' error indicates that TikTok Shop has frozen your product due to a potential violation of their policies. These policies differ per region.

To see if your product is indeed frozen, check its status in your TikTok Shop back-end. If your product has the status Freeze, you can appeal the decision through TikTok Shop's Seller Support.

How often does each task run on TikTok Shop?

Tasks run according to the following schedule on TikTok Shop:

Export product data to channel every 60 minutes
Export product offers to channel every 15 minutes
Import product offers from channel every 15 minutes
Import orders from channel every 20 minutes
Import returns from channel every 60 minutes
Export order shipments to channel every 60 minutes
Export returns to channel every 60 minutes
Export product images every 60 minutes

Can I see when a package was delivered to the buyer by TikTok Shop?

Yes, once TikTok Shop has shipped the package, you can find the estimated delivery time in the Delivered at field under the shipment details on ChannelEngine.

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