Social commerce isn’t a side-channel anymore – it’s where a growing share of retail revenue is actually happening. TikTok Shop alone is on track to hit $112.2 billion in global GMV in 2026, and Embryo’s analysis of the sector puts the UK social commerce market on course for 26.6% annual growth, with over 300,000 businesses already trading on TikTok Shop in the UK. If you’re a brand weighing up whether to bring in specialist help, rather than bolting social selling onto an existing social media or ecommerce contract, it’s worth knowing exactly what that relationship looks like day to day.
Here’s what to expect when you work with a dedicated social commerce agency like Novaro.
A discovery process built around your numbers, not a template
The relationship doesn’t start with content – it starts with a proper audit. Expect a kick-off call where you discuss sales targets, current TikTok Shop or Instagram setup, brand guidelines, product catalogue, and access to the relevant accounts. A generic social media retainer might skip straight to a content calendar; a social commerce agency needs to understand your margins, stock levels, and existing affiliate relationships before it can set a realistic revenue target, because everything that follows – content, creators, ad spend – is built to hit that number, not just to post consistently.
Expect this stage also to cover the practical groundwork most brands underestimate: whether your business is TikTok Shop-eligible, what your returns and shipping policies need to look like to meet platform requirements, and how your existing stock system will feed product data through. None of this is glamorous, but skipping it is the most common reason a launch date slips.
A named team, not a ticket queue
You should expect to be handed to real, named people rather than a rotating pool of account executives. At Novaro, clients work with Managing Director Chris Grimes on strategy, a dedicated campaign manager running day-to-day activity, and a production lead overseeing anything filmed or streamed. Novaro launched as a specialist social commerce agency within The Embryo Group, which is worth noting because it means that the specialist team sits alongside the wider agency’s paid media and SEO expertise, should you ever need it. That focus matters in social commerce specifically because platform algorithms, TikTok Shop policy, and creator relationships shift quickly – a team embedded in the platform daily catches changes a generalist agency, split across ten other channels, will miss. Expect direct access to these people, not a support inbox with a rotating signature.
Platform setup and the technical heavy lifting
A large part of what you’re paying for is invisible to you: seller account setup, product feed optimisation, TikTok Shop management, Sprii integration, shipping and returns configuration, and troubleshooting when the platform itself breaks something. This backend work exists precisely because most brands don’t want to learn the backend of a shopping platform themselves. Expect this to happen largely in the background, with the agency flagging only the decisions that need your input, such as pricing, promotions, or new product launches.
Selling direct on Instagram
Alongside TikTok Shop, expect the agency to set up and manage direct selling on Instagram where it suits the brand – tagging products in posts and Reels, managing the checkout integration, and making sure the two platforms are working from the same catalogue and stock feed rather than as separate, disconnected efforts.
Creator and affiliate partnerships
If affiliate marketing is part of your strategy, expect the agency to source, vet, and manage creators on your behalf rather than handing you a list to chase yourself. Novaro’s affiliate program management service runs exactly this way: for George Foreman, the team built a nostalgia-led affiliate strategy reaching 4,000 affiliates, helping generate £40,000 in the first month against a £10,000 monthly KPI. Expect regular reporting on which creators are actually driving revenue (not just views), and a willingness to drop underperforming partners rather than keep paying for reach that doesn’t convert.
Live shopping as a core part of the service
Expect live shopping to be built into your strategy from day one, not offered as an optional extra. Novaro runs its own live shopping studios for every client, handling event scheduling, presenter sourcing, technical production, and real-time sales monitoring during the stream. That investment matters: Embryo’s guidance on selling via TikTok Live notes that livestream conversion rates can run roughly ten times higher than standard ecommerce formats, with 76% of livestream viewers going on to make a purchase. Production quality, lighting, audio, and a presenter who can actually sell on camera are major factors in whether a stream converts, and it’s not something most in-house marketing teams are set up to do well from a standing start.
Realistic targets, then numbers that beat them
Expect the agency to set a conservative initial target and report against it honestly, rather than promising a home run from month one. In Novaro’s case study with George Foreman, the brief was to hit £10,000 a month in sales within the first three months of relaunching the brand on TikTok Shop for a younger audience. Built on a nostalgia-driven angle and a 4,000-strong affiliate network, the agency delivered £40,000 in month one and £85,000 by month three – four and nine times the original targets respectively. That’s the pattern to expect from a good agency: a defensible starting number, followed by transparent tracking of how far above (or below) it you land.
Reporting you can actually act on
Expect regular reporting, usually weekly, that ties back to revenue and GMV, not just impressions or follower counts. Given how directly social commerce ties content to a checkout – TikTok Shop purchases can complete in as few as two clicks – an agency should be able to show you which content, creator, or live event drove which sale, not just that “engagement was up.” If a report doesn’t let you decide it, it’s not doing its job.
Timelines: How long before you see results
Expect a realistic answer here rather than an inflated one. Platform setup, catalogue approval, and initial content typically take a few weeks before a brand goes live, and the first month is usually treated as a calibration period rather than a peak. The George Foreman timeline is a useful reference point: a working launch within the first month, a target beaten by month one, and results compounding by month three as the agency learns which affiliates, products, and content formats convert best for that specific audience. If an agency promises viral results in week one, that’s a reason to ask more questions, not fewer.
What working together actually looks like
Put together, expect: a data-led onboarding, a named team rather than a support inbox, TikTok Shop and Instagram management handled on your behalf, live shopping built in as standard, a vetted affiliate network, and reporting that tracks back to real revenue. Browse Novaro’s case studies to see the range of outcomes across affiliate, TikTok Shop, and live shopping campaigns, or get in touch to talk through what a realistic first-quarter target would look like for your brand.
