July 6, 2023
BANGKOK – TikTok Thailand pledged more active collaboration with local Thai agencies and businesses in order to help promote Thai brands and products throughout Southeast Asia, a senior executive from the video-sharing application told a press conference on Wednesday.
The remarks came just a few weeks after TikTok chief executive Chew Shou Zi announced an ambitious billion-dollar investment to support regional businesses, particularly small and medium-sized enterprises.
Sirinit Viriyasiri, TikTok Thailand’s head of business marketing, said it is still too early to tell what new partnerships or features will be added. TikTok Thailand, however, can assure Thai users that the country is a part of this massive investment.
Sirinit then gave an example of an upcoming project in which TikTok collaborated with a public agency to promote the One Tambon One Product project, which stimulates entrepreneurship at the local level.
She said that additional tools and functions will appear on TikTok Shop. Most tools will help business owners run their businesses more smoothly as well as create creative and fun content to promote products.
“Our features, such as video shopping ads, live shopping ads, and reach and frequency are helping to maintain users’ good experience alongside the ‘shoppertainment’ trend,” she said.
‘Shoppertainment’ is a buzzword for an online shopping trend in which users want to have fun and be entertained while searching for a product to buy, Sirinit explained.
According to TikTok, amusing content influences more than 77 percent of consumers’ purchasing decisions, while two of three new buyers of a brand complete their purchase based on emotional demands.
To respond to and meaningfully connect with consumers, brands must stress shoppertainment on TikTok, Sirinit said, adding that 70 percent of consumers trust TikTok content when making purchasing decisions.
Sirinit Viriyasiri
Furthermore, one-fourth of TikTok users consider buying on the TikTok Shop due to entertaining content from creators, celebrities, and brands.
Sirinit said that TikTok Shop in Thailand will be the home of a new kind of shopping culture, where a single piece of content can quickly go viral and create demand globally, and where consumers can quickly discover promotional campaigns, content linked to shopping, and access to a variety of product assortments.
“We redefine Thais’ shopping experience through shoppertainment – combining TikTok’s unique fun and entertaining content, followed by commerce,” she said.
According to a recent study by TikTok and Boston Consulting Group, the “shoppertainment” trend will usher in a staggering US$1 trillion in business opportunities across the Asia Pacific region by 2025, with Thailand seeing $12.4 billion in growth. The study also found that 81% of Asia Pacific TikTok users admitted that video content influenced their recent purchases.
In Thailand, 97% of TikTok users took action after watching ads on TikTok during the sale season, according to Toluna’s findings.
When compared to non-TikTok users, TikTok users are 3.5 times more willing to spend 10,000 – 17,600 baht during a mega sale.
Sirinit pointed out that the findings could ensure that business owners get discovered and sell their products to TikTok users.
More than 325 million consumers in Southeast Asia and more than 15 million businesses in the region use TikTok each month.
Wednesday’s press conference took place on the same day as TikTok’s “Shoppertainment Summit” in Jakarta. The summit promotes TikTok’s as a platform where content and commerce meet. Its tools and experiences deliver a commerce experience that is led by entertainment.