By skyforbes 
Social commerce is only really a couple of years old but retailX Autumn Retail Festival it was one of the dominant themes with an exceptional range of brands on-stage sharing their experience of using it as a business growth platform. Here are some key insights from the day:
Discovery commerce
In a tour de force presentation Jack Timpany UK Ecommerce Activation Director at L’OREAL argued the role of TikTok Shop is morphing into search and even brand builder L’Oréal thinks of it as “discovery commerce” a pivotal place for new product launches, noting that 55% of orders in August were for new brands.
Content before commerce
While TikTok’s commerce model is about connecting content and commerce at scale and speed, it’s important to remember first principles — TikTok Shop is an entertainment and content platform, not just a commerce platform, and that means any brand’s operating model should start with content. A commerce platform is basics.
Infinity Loop
Timpany describes discovery commerce as an infinity loop — forget campaigns that have a clear end and beginning — consumer interest and product demands create an unpredictable cycle of engagement that brands must be ready to respond to. Customer feedback, negative opinions and optimisation opportunities are all part of the mix that must be leveraged.
Don’t try it without resources
And he suggests this means any brand aiming to utilise social / discovery commerce has to have a strong social team within the organisation — don’t attempt it if you have got the right resources at scale.
“Halo” Creators
In a discussion about TikTok virality, logistics and customer longevity chaired by Barney Willis Director of Partnerships at Pattern George Robinson CEO SoSweet Direct Joe Yates Founder of Somerce and Michael Malinsky Co-founder at Wonderskin highlighted how attention to detail in picking the mix of creators is essential.
Creators may be individuals but to achieve viral impact brands need to use a combination or package of the right creators — paid or “halo” creators leading content development based on a brief supported by a network of micro or affiliate creators working more loosely with brand guidelines producing raw or more authentic output.
Stock and the algorithm
And, they landed on stock management as a key pressure TikTok Shop creates. There’s a fine line between getting it right and wrong made more complex by commercial pressures being applied by the platform to commit stock levels and maintain customer satisfaction levels. Getting customer satisfaction wrong means potentially being penalised by the algorithm and a brand being consigned to a visibility backwater. All of which means supply chain and fulfilment are far more critical to success than before.
Speeding up FMCG innovation
A clear by-product of the growth in social / discovery commerce is it is going to place a lot of pressure on FMCG/CPG product development and innovation because the sales cycles are so much more intense and shorter. It’s a machine that demands something new.
“Lives” rule
Social is reinventing QVC-style TV shopping and making it cool. “Lives” — live streaming brand events are now the pinnacle of brand engagement. They’re the equivalent of a flagship store front so demand serious creative investment and production values.
GenX on TikTok Shop?
It’s not just teens doom-scrolling cat stunts, and shopping for fast fashion, according to those on the front line, GenX has a presence and are actively using it for shopping although the overall demographic breakdown of the channel is 80% under 35 years old.
Creators at scale
Daisy Kelly, founder of Glow For It Mike Ruxton Disrupt Marketing Ed Wilson TikTok agreed that the nature of the TikTok “algo” demands brands use large numbers of creators to drive performance. And this investment makes sense as the channel delivers audience impact beyond its borders across other retail channels and instore meaning the commerce is certainly capable of doing the job of increasingly expensive lower funnel performance marketing options.
Creators should shape NPD and launch strategy
The word came down time and again that brands would be wise to consult their creators and audience consistently and regularly on product development and retail tactics. If anyone knows the market, it’s the market.
Trust — from celebs to the long tail
Creators with just five thousand followers are highly valuable assets within a product campaign and can be just as valuable as a celeb with millions of followers in terms of ROI — it’s all about product fit, quality of content and authenticity. Smaller creators tend to perform better.
Personal AI commerce
Shopping from within ChatGPT et al is already a thing and mass usage is just around the corner with the Shopify / OpenAI collaboration pointing the way. Plugging your personal AI into commerce channels to go shopping could fundamentally change the dynamics of ecommerce and social commerce as well.
Feels like the future
Key take away — social commerce is bursting with energy and conviction — it feels like the future, but it’s nascent in many ways. Brand will need to commit and adapt fast but this can be tricky during a period of transition away from old advertising and marketing models especially when performance marketing channels could now be considered “old”.
We don’t fully understand the impact of the likes of TikTok Shop beyond incremental sales and the power of influencers/creators as brand advocates and strategists.
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