In the rapidly evolving landscape of digital retail, the line between "scrolling" and "shopping" hasn't just blurred, it has practically vanished. At a recent ECRM session in Germany, I sat down with Maximilian Burianek, TikTok Shop Lead for Germany, to discuss how the platform is transforming from a place of viral entertainment into a powerhouse of "discovery commerce." 

Indeed, over the past year I've increasingly seen brands engaging with consumers on the platform, whether it's via TikTok Live streaming, where brand owners like Harley Sutton of Thanks! Naturals connects with viewers who purchase products as they watch, or Industrias T.TAIO's Emilio Smeke, who uses TikTok videos to drive traffic into retail stores sell his products. 

For brands looking to scale, the message is clear: the future of e-commerce isn't just about being convenient; it’s about being joyful, inspirational, and seamless. Add convenience to the mix and you have a great way of closing the loop on commerce. 

The new era of discovery

TikTok has long outgrown its origins as an app for lip-syncing. Today, it is a massive ecosystem of hyper-focused vertical niches where users stumble upon their next favorite book, beauty product, or tech gadget. According to Burianek, the platform has become the premier destination for finding the unknown.

"TikTok really is the best place I could imagine to discover new topics," he says. "Many still remember TikTok being a place for lip-syncing and dancing, but many vertical niches have emerged over the past few years." 

This "discovery" phase is backed by data. According to Burianek, one out of every two TikTok users reports getting inspiration for new brands and products directly from the app. Whether it’s the "BookTok" phenomenon helping publishers find new readers or the music industry seeing one in three viral hits start on the platform, the community’s ability to drive trends is unprecedented. 

Closing the Loop: From inspiration to checkout

While TikTok has always been a driver for brand awareness, the introduction of TikTok Shop solves the friction problem. Previously, a user would see a product, leave the app, search for it on a different engine, and perhaps find it on another retailer’s site (if they didn't get distracted along the way). TikTok Shop closes the loop by keeping the entire journey — from discovery to payment and delivery tracking — inside a single interface. 

"We saw all the halo where inspiration on TikTok translates into a sales in other channels, but obviously there was a lot of friction involved and it was not a very convenient experience," says Burianek. "And that’s actually where TikTok shop closes the loop in that now you can not only find the product, but you can also purchase the product on TikTok shop." 

By removing these extra steps, TikTok Shop transforms a transactional task into a joyful experience that is full of surprises and inspiration, reminiscent of the golden age of shopping malls but modernized for the digital user. 

Four native ways to sell on TikTok

To succeed on the platform, brands need to understand the four primary "paths" to the consumer on the platform. They are:

Shoppable Video: This is the cornerstone of the platform. A product is featured in a standard video with a small yellow shopping cart icon. Clicking it allows users to see details and checkout instantly. 

Live Shopping: Live shopping allows brands to interact with customers in real-time, answering questions about ingredients, fit, or usage. "Live shopping is a great way to connect with users because it not only gives a seller the opportunity to present a product and explain features, but also react to questions in the livestream," says Burianek. "You can convey so much more information." 

Shop Tab: The Shop Tab is a personalized discovery hub where users can find deals, specific campaigns (like Black Friday or Cyber Monday), and products curated based on their interests. 

Showcase: You can think of Showcase as a brand's digital storefront or profile page. Once a user discovers a brand through a video, they can visit the Showcase to see the full product catalog. 

Winning strategies for brands

Burianek highlights three core strategies that successful sellers are using to dominate TikTok Shop: 

The Product-Led Strategy: This involves heavy collaboration with creators. Instead of the brand making all the content, they work with an army of affiliates who present the product in their own unique, authentic voices. "Successful brands, they work with dozens, sometimes even hundreds of creators," says Burianek. "The commission is purely performance based. So if a video creator generates sales, that’s fine. If the video goes viral, that’s super. And if a video does not perform right, equally, there’s no commission paid." 

The Live-First Strategy: This works best for brands with a charismatic Founder or brand ambassador who can build a community through direct interaction. While Live Shopping is currently a massive force in Asia, it is growing rapidly in Europe. 

The Full Ecosystem approach: The most successful brands leverage the full ecosystem of TikTok's services, combining frequent live sessions with a massive volume of creator-led shoppable videos. 

Maximizing growth with ads and campaigns

To scale beyond organic reach, TikTok Shop offers a specific solution called GMV Max. This tool is strictly performance-based, focusing on driving sales rather than just awareness. One of the most innovative features of this system is its ability to identify which creator videos are already performing well so that a brad can double down on them with some extra support.

"If you decide to boost your products with ads, the algorithm would look at all the videos, determine which of those products perform best and would then double down on those videos, try to actually get them even more visibility," says Burianek.

Brands can even set differentiated commission rates—paying a standard rate for organic sales and a lower, adjusted rate for sales triggered by the brand's own ad investment on a creator’s video. 

Solving the logistics puzzle

A beautiful video means nothing if the product doesn't arrive on time. TikTok offers several fulfillment options to ensure that users remain satisfied. For Seller-Managed Fulfillment, the brand uses its own warehouse and carriers. With TikTok Shipping, the brand uses TikTok’s preferred carrier relationships. Finally, there is Fulfilled by TikTok, a hands-off solution where TikTok handles warehousing and outbound shipping from its own facilities. 

"The great thing for sellers is basically it gives them a lot of flexibility," says Burianek. "They can decide to put part of their products their own warehouse, and they can also decide after some time, for example, depending on seasonality to switch." 

For catalog management, the platform integrates with major e-commerce software like Shopify, and for those with massive inventories (like book retailers with hundreds of thousands of titles), a well-documented API is available. 

Getting started: low risk, high reward

For emerging brands, the barrier to entry is intentionally low. Burianek suggests that the best way to start is to simply register, look at what successful sellers are doing, and get inspired. "Look at a couple of those sellers are doing, then just give it a start and get found by new audiences." 

As consumers continue to move away from purely transactional search-based shopping and toward discovery-based social commerce, TikTok Shop provides the infrastructure to turn a great product into a viral sensation. 
 

Watch the full video interview with Maximilan Burianek here!