TIKTOK POTENTIAL FOR WESTERN BRANDS IN ASIA

“First time I downloaded TikTok I thought it was not made for me. 𝐓𝐨𝐨 𝐥𝐨𝐮𝐝, 𝐭𝐨𝐨 𝐦𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐲: not a place for Millennials, I thought. But.

But then I did my research, and talked to people, and understood 𝐰𝐡𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦 𝐢𝐬 𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐯𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐖𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐧 𝐛𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐬 interested in Asian Markets, even when their target doesn’t seem to be Gen Z.

ByteDance's GMV will soar from USD 524.3 billion in 2024 to nearly USD 1 trillion by 2029. This growth trajectory could position ByteDance as the fourth-largest retailer globally within the next five years, capturing an increasing share of sales from Alibaba. It has already launched TikTok Shop in eight markets and has focused on 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐭𝐬 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐒𝐨𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝐀𝐬𝐢𝐚.

Here 𝐈𝐧𝐝𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐚 is the largest market for Tik Tok Shop, which is expected to grow at a rapid rate of 44% between now and 2029.

Our team at 𝐕𝐢𝐫𝐠𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐨 𝐡𝐚𝐬 𝐥𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐧 𝐀𝐬𝐢𝐚 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐚 𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞 and we all well understand the potential of those figures. But, there’s a but: while shoppers in Western markets are gradually adapting to new ecommerce trends like livestreaming, gamification, and social commerce, these same purchasing habits have long been established in Asia and on their way to becoming something obsolete..

That is to say, TikTok still is probably the most powerful tool for Western brands to reach Asian markets, but those same brands should be aware of 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐢𝐠 𝐠𝐚𝐩 𝐛𝐞𝐭𝐰𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐖𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐄𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐧 𝐛𝐮𝐲𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐛𝐞𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐢𝐨𝐫𝐬. The significant investments required to establish marketing channels on TikTok must be made with a clear strategy that considers not only economic factors but also socio-cultural ones. A local presence is essential to gauge the pulse of the situation and keep pace with this rapidly advancing Asia”.

That's what Pierluigi Pollio, one of our founders here at Virgilio - Creating Value, thinks about Western brands investing investing in TikTok for Asian Markets. Do you agree?