Uncovering purchase decision processes, attitudes towards the platform, and mobile shopping behaviour helped drive the social media companies' UK strategy
Creating community-driven shopping experiences
TikTok Shop is an eCommerce platform powered by TikTok’s unique content discovery system. Videos and live streams aim to help sellers showcase and sell their products, creating a community-driven, modern shopping experience.
Strategy built on research
Following a successful launch in China, TikTok Shop was looking to improve performance in European markets by gaining a better understanding of shoppers in the UK. The UX Agency proposed ethnographic research as the best route to understanding mobile shopping habits.
Prioritising ethnographic research, even during a pandemic
It was important to the client to have in-person ethnographic research to observe first-hand how users interact with technology in daily life. However, the pandemic added a challenge for face-to-face research, but as restrictions lifted The UX Agency met with four people, two in London and two in Manchester. We found that having both parties take a lateral flow test together was important in establishing trust, and helping the interviewee feel comfortable. Ethnographic research helped TikTok discover the purchase decision processes, attitudes towards TikTok Shop and short-form videos, and insight into mobile shopping behaviour, within a natural setting.
Actionable insights
Ethnographic research gave our client contextual insight into users' everyday mobile shopping behaviour and the end-to-end process from purchase and post-purchase to unboxing and returns. Data gathered in the study was analysed and actionable insights were provided to the TikTok team to improve the performance of TikTok Shop in the UK
