TikTok Live: How to sell products & maximise sales
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TikTok has transformed from a platform for viral dances and trending sounds into a powerful e-commerce ecosystem. At the heart of this transformation is TikTok Live Shopping – a feature that’s revolutionising how brands connect with audiences and drive sales in real-time. With over 8 million hours of live shopping sessions hosted in the US alone during 2024, and 76% of livestream viewers making purchases, it’s clear that live shopping represents a significant opportunity for businesses of all sizes.
What is TikTok Live shopping?
TikTok Live Shopping is an interactive e-commerce experience that allows brands, creators, and businesses to showcase and sell products through real-time livestream events. Unlike traditional e-commerce, where customers browse static product pages, TikTok Live creates an engaging, dynamic shopping experience reminiscent of television shopping channels like QVC, but supercharged for the social media age.
During a live shopping session, viewers can interact with the host, ask questions, and purchase products without ever leaving the TikTok app. When a product is featured during the stream, a clickable pin appears on-screen. Viewers simply tap the pin to add items to their cart and complete their purchase seamlessly within the platform.
This format combines entertainment, community, and commerce into one compelling package. It’s shopping reimagined for the digital generation, where discovery happens organically, and purchases are driven by authenticity and connection rather than traditional advertising.
The growth of TikTok Shop and live shopping
The numbers tell a compelling story. TikTok Shop generated £33.2 billion in gross merchandise value (GMV) globally in 2024, nearly tripling from the previous year’s £11.09 billion. In the US market alone, TikTok Shop brought in £9 billion in GMV throughout 2024, whilst the UK has seen equally impressive growth with a 131% annual increase in shoppers and a 180% year-on-year rise in revenue.
Live shopping accounts for approximately 10% of total TikTok Shop sales, but its impact extends far beyond this figure. The conversion power of livestreams is remarkable: studies show that conversion rates through livestreams are ten times higher than other e-commerce formats. This isn’t surprising when you consider that half of TikTok users report buying something after watching a TikTok Live. TikTok’s blend of entertainment and commerce means users are not just consuming content; they are using the platform as a shopping destination. (marketing-beat.co.uk).
According to recent industry analysis, live shopping sessions on TikTok are now a major driver of sales, with over 6,000 TikTok Live Shopping events held daily in the UK. Half of UK TikTok users report having made a purchase after watching a TikTok Live. (somerce.com).
These patterns show how audiences now expect entertainment, community and commerce to fuse into one experience. Brands that fail to embrace this shift risk falling behind. Social commerce is reshaping the online purchase journey, with daily discovery and purchase now happening within social platforms rather than external e-commerce sites.
UK success stories: Brands winning with TikTok live
Made by Mitchell
Perhaps no brand exemplifies TikTok Live’s potential better than Made by Mitchell. Founded by celebrity makeup artist Mitchell Halliday, the beauty brand made history by becoming the first UK business to generate £1 million in sales during a single day on TikTok Shop. During a record-breaking 12-hour livestream, they sold one product every single second, with over 600,000 viewers tuning in to participate in the live shopping experience.
The brand’s success wasn’t accidental. Made by Mitchell’s consistent livestreaming strategy and influencer collaborations generated 10.5 million impressions and quadrupled their brand following. As Halliday himself noted, “Interacting with a LIVE on TikTok Shop feels less like watching a sales pitch and more like chatting with a friend.” (CosmeticsBusiness)
P.Louise
P.Louise, another UK cosmetics brand founded by Paige Williams, set an equally impressive record by generating £2 million in sales on TikTok Live. Known for their themed makeup collections and stunning influencer PR kits.
Luxe Collective
Luxury resale platform Luxe Collective offers a different perspective on TikTok Live success. Since launching on TikTok Shop, the brand has seen a 20% increase in revenue, with more than 36% of gross sales attributed directly to livestream shopping events.
Requirements for Going Live on TikTok
Before diving into TikTok Live Shopping, you’ll need to meet several basic requirements:
Account requirements:
- Be at least 16 years old (18+ recommended for shopping features)
- Have a minimum of 1,000 followers
- Use a TikTok Business Account
- Be registered as a UK business or sole trader (for UK sellers)
Technical setup:
- Register for TikTok Shop through the Seller Center
- Verify your identity and business details
- Link a UK bank account
- Complete product listings with high-quality images and descriptions
Whilst the 1,000 follower requirement might seem daunting for new businesses, it’s achievable through consistent content creation and engagement with your niche community.
Setting up your first TikTok Live shopping session
Product selection strategy
Success on TikTok Live begins with strategic product selection. Industry experts recommend organising your product showcase around three core categories:
The follower gift: A low-cost entry-level product (typically under £10) designed to secure first-time purchases and encourage viewers to follow your account. This product should have mass appeal and demonstrate clear value. Consider using TikTok Shop promotions, flash deals, and countdown timers to create urgency.
The top seller: Your star product that retains viewers and drives the bulk of your sales volume. This should be your most popular item with proven demand, strong margins, and compelling demonstration potential. Plan to showcase this product multiple times throughout your session with different angles and benefits.
The profit driver: A higher-margin item that provides substantial revenue per sale. Introduce this strategically every 1-2 minutes to maintain viewer interest without overwhelming your audience. This product often benefits from bundle deals or limited-time offers exclusive to the live session.
Creating product sets
Before going live, organise your products into themed sets within the TikTok Shop Toolkit. This preparation ensures smooth transitions between products and allows you to align items with specific promotional themes or customer preferences. Many successful sellers create multiple product sets for different live sessions, allowing for strategic planning around seasonal trends, holidays, or viral moments.
Pre-stream promotion
Never go live without building anticipation. Use TikTok’s scheduling feature to create an event at least two hours in advance (the platform requires this minimum notice). Promote your upcoming livestream through:
- Short-form video teasers highlighting featured products
- Stories and posts across all your social channels
- Direct messages to engaged followers
- Countdown stickers and reminder notifications
- Collaboration with other creators or influencers
The goal is to have viewers waiting when you go live, creating immediate engagement that signals to TikTok’s algorithm that your stream deserves broader distribution.
Best practices for engaging TikTok Live sessions
The critical first 10 minutes
The opening of your livestream determines how TikTok’s algorithm will distribute your content to new users. These first ten minutes are make-or-break.
Start with:
A Warm Welcome: Greet viewers personally, introduce yourself and your brand, and share what makes your products special. New viewers need context quickly.
Immediate Value: Showcase a product within the first 90 seconds. Remember, many viewers have short attention spans, give them a reason to stay.
Engagement Prompts: Ask viewers to comment their location, drop emojis, or share what products they’re interested in seeing. Comments signal engagement to the algorithm.
Session length and frequency
TikTok recommends livestreams of 30-60 minutes minimum, with many successful sellers hosting sessions of 1-2 hours. Brands seeing the most success often go live 2-3 times daily, though this intensive schedule isn’t necessary when starting out.
For 30-minute sessions, feature more than two products, demonstrating each for 5-10 minutes. For 1-hour sessions, select 3-5 products, focusing on low to medium-priced items that encourage impulse purchases. The key is maintaining energy and variety without overwhelming viewers.
Demonstration techniques
Visual demonstrations are the heart of live shopping. Show products in action:
- Unbox items to reveal packaging quality
- Demonstrate how products work in real-world scenarios
- Showcase before-and-after results
- Model clothing or accessories from multiple angles
- Compare your product against alternatives
- Address common objections or questions
Reading customer reviews aloud adds social proof, whilst incorporating unique presentation styles (whether through humour, education, or storytelling) helps differentiate your brand in a crowded marketplace.
Creating urgency with flash sales
Live-exclusive promotions drive immediate action. Use TikTok’s native promotion tools to create:
- Flash sales with countdown timers
- Bundle deals available only during the stream
- Limited quantity offers that create scarcity
- Exclusive coupon codes for live viewers
- Free shipping thresholds
Over 6,000 TikTok Shop Lives are hosted in the UK every single day, meaning competition for attention is fierce. Exclusive offers reward viewer participation and encourage immediate purchases rather than “I’ll think about it” responses.
Engagement and community building
TikTok Live shopping succeeds when it feels like a conversation rather than a sales pitch. Foster community through:
Moderators: Appoint moderators to help manage comments, answer questions, and maintain a positive atmosphere. To add a moderator, ensure you’re mutually following each other, access your livestream settings, and select the plus icon in the Moderators section.
Q&A features: Enable TikTok’s Q&A functionality to field viewer questions in real-time. This feature empowers meaningful interactions and demonstrates product knowledge.
Acknowledgment: Call out commenters by name, respond to questions directly, and create moments that make individual viewers feel seen and valued.
Storytelling: Share the story behind your brand, explain why you’re passionate about your products, and create personal connections that transcend transactional relationships.
Technical setup for professional quality
Whilst you can go live directly from your smartphone, investing in basic equipment dramatically improves viewer experience:
Lighting: Natural light from windows works well, but ring lights or overhead LED panels provide consistent, flattering illumination. Good lighting is non-negotiable for product visibility.
Audio: Clear sound matters more than many realise. Test your audio beforehand, eliminate background noise, and consider a simple lavalier microphone for improved clarity.
Internet Connection: A stable connection prevents frustrating drops and buffering. Test your connection speed and consider streaming from a location with strong Wi-Fi or use a mobile hotspot as backup.
Camera Setup: Position your phone at eye level or slightly above using a tripod or phone stand. Experiment with angles that showcase products whilst keeping you comfortably framed.
Background: Choose a clean, distraction-free background that aligns with your brand aesthetic. A dedicated streaming space helps maintain consistency across sessions.
Leveraging TikTok’s algorithm
Understanding how TikTok distributes live content helps maximise reach:
Engagement Signals: Comments, likes, shares, and view duration all signal content quality to the algorithm. The more engaged your audience, the more TikTok pushes your stream to new viewers.
Consistency: Regular streaming schedules train the algorithm to recognize your content patterns and help build audience habits. Viewers are more likely to tune in when they know when to expect you.
Watch Time: Longer average view durations indicate compelling content. Use variety in product presentations and pacing to maintain interest throughout your session.
Cross-Promotion: Driving traffic to your livestreams through other content (short-form videos, Stories, external social channels) creates momentum that amplifies algorithmic distribution.
Measuring success and optimising performance
After each livestream, analyse key metrics available in TikTok’s analytics:
- Total viewers and average concurrent users
- Peak viewer count and when it occurred
- Total sales and average order value
- Engagement rate (comments, likes, shares)
- Top-performing products
- Viewer retention and drop-off points
Use these insights to refine your approach. Perhaps certain products resonate more strongly, specific times attract larger audiences, or particular presentation styles drive higher engagement. Continuous optimisation based on data separates one-off successes from sustainable growth.
Avoiding common pitfalls
Don’t Go Live Unprepared: Planning talking points, product demonstrations, and promotional offers prevents awkward silence and maintains energy.
Don’t Oversell: Balance product promotion with entertainment and value. Viewers will disengage if sessions feel like relentless sales pitches.
Don’t Ignore Comments: Engagement is currency on TikTok Live. Failing to acknowledge viewers or answer questions damages the community atmosphere that drives conversions.
Don’t Neglect Follow-Up: Post-stream engagement matters. Share highlights, thank viewers, and promote upcoming sessions to maintain momentum.
Don’t Expect Overnight Success: Building a profitable TikTok Live presence takes time. Consistency and continuous improvement matter more than viral hits.
TikTok Live Shopping represents the convergence of entertainment, community, and commerce: a model that’s reshaping retail globally. With 71.4 million social media shoppers estimated on TikTok in 2025 (up 24.5% from 2024), and projections indicating growth to 94.2 million by 2028, the opportunity continues expanding. (TikTok newsroom)
For brands willing to embrace authentic engagement, strategic planning, and consistent execution, TikTok Live offers unprecedented access to engaged audiences ready to discover and purchase. Whether you’re an established retailer or a small business just starting out, the platform provides tools and reach previously available only to major brands with substantial marketing budgets.
The question isn’t whether TikTok Live Shopping works (the data conclusively proves it does). The question is whether your brand is ready to embrace this new frontier of social commerce. With over 500,000 merchants now selling on TikTok Shop in the US, and similar growth in the UK market, early adopters continue gaining competitive advantages.
Social commerce is becoming central to online retail. Around 76% of UK consumers plan to buy through social platforms in 2025, yet many brands are still slow to adopt these tools. (thetimes.co.uk)
TikTok Live is shaping how people shop, combining discovery, entertainment and commerce into one experience. This is redefining audience expectations for all brands.
Conclusion: Why your brand should embrace TikTok Live shopping
TikTok Live Shopping is a powerful sales channel that combines engagement, discovery and purchase. With record sales performance and proven engagement trends, brands that incorporate TikTok Live into their strategies stand to benefit in revenue, customer experience and community growth.
How Embryo & Novaro can help you win with TikTok Live
Embryo can support your TikTok Live Shopping strategy by:
- Developing data-driven live campaign concepts
- Planning and scripting high-impact sessions
Producing engaging content that converts - Amplifying performance with paid and organic tactics
Analysing results to refine strategy
