Walmart and TikTok Join Forces To Test in-App Live Shopping

Walmart and TikTok have announced that they are teaming up to conduct the first pilot test of a "new shoppable product" experience on the social video app in what will be a first on TikTok in the U.S., per a press release by the retailer.

A special event called the "Holiday Shop-Along Spectacular" will be hosted on TikTok the users will be able to buy Walmart's fashion items without having to leave the app during a livestream.

The event will take place on Friday, Dec. 18 at 8 p.m. EST on the Walmart profile page on TikTok.

A new "shoppable product"

Walmart's fashion items will be featured in videos by 10 TikTok creators, led by host Michael Le who has 43+ million fans. The TikTok makers will be showing their favorite items from the retailer in their own style of video in the one-hour special event.

According to the press release, Walmart will be showcasing "a mix of national brands, like Champion, Jordache, Kendall + Kylie and some of our own private brands, including Free Assembly, Scoop and Sofia Jeans." It is planned to be a fun and interactive event which will house numerous creative surprises."

The users will be able to shop for the featured fashion items in two ways. They can add the products shown on the screen directly to their cart with the pins that will pop-up, or they can do the same thing at the end of the event to check out all the featured items and select according to their liking there.

Walmart CEO Dough McMillion stated on CNBC in October, "If you’re watching a TikTok video and somebody’s got a piece of apparel or an item on it that you really like, what if you could just quickly purchase that item? That’s what we’re seeing happen in countries around the world. And it’s intriguing to us, and we would like to be part of it.”

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Even after the event is over, the items will be available to shop from Walmart's TikTok profile. As the young generations lean heavily towards online shopping and the arrival of AR shopping experiences come closer, livestreamed shopping is expected to be a fast-growing market.