TikTok Shop Expands to New Markets: What Brands Need to Know

TikTok Shop’s global rollout is accelerating.
After transforming e-commerce in the UK and Southeast Asia, TikTok has now announced major international expansion across Europe, North America and the Middle East — a move that signals its ambition to become the world’s next dominant retail platform.

For brands, this expansion opens new audiences, new logistics systems and new competition. Here’s what you need to know — and how to prepare your strategy.

1. The Expansion in Numbers

TikTok confirmed that in late 2025 and early 2026, TikTok Shop will launch or scale in:

• Germany, France, Italy and Spain (following UK success)
• Canada and the United States (after pilot tests in select states)
• UAE and Saudi Arabia, tapping into the region’s fast-growing mobile-commerce market

Together, these markets represent more than 600 million monthly active users and an estimated £250 billion in annual online retail spend.

In short: TikTok Shop is going global — and UK sellers are among the first with proven experience.

2. Why TikTok Is Expanding Now

TikTok’s UK operation became its proof of concept.
In under two years, British merchants delivered some of the app’s highest GMV and Live conversion rates worldwide. Beauty, fashion and wellness brands using Somerce strategies have regularly achieved 4–6× ROAS and double-digit sales growth month-on-month.

Armed with that data, TikTok is scaling its model — creator-led discovery + in-app checkout + native fulfilment — into markets with similar consumer behaviour patterns.

The company’s aim: create a single global shopping infrastructure that rivals Amazon’s convenience and YouTube’s reach.

3. What This Means for UK Brands

a. Cross-Border Selling Becomes Easier

TikTok Shop is introducing multi-market seller accounts, allowing UK brands to list products across multiple countries through a single dashboard.
TikTok handles currency conversion, local tax, and fulfilment via Fulfilled by TikTok (FBT) hubs in each region.

For British brands with export ambitions, this is the lowest-friction route yet to international DTC growth.

b. More Competition, But More Data

With new sellers entering the ecosystem, discovery will be competitive.
However, expanded markets mean richer insight: TikTok will provide comparative analytics showing where your content converts best geographically.

Somerce tip: use this to identify emerging hotspots (e.g. Italy’s beauty scene or Canada’s wellness niche) and localise creative accordingly.

c. Creator Collaboration Goes Global

TikTok’s Creator Marketplace now includes filters by region and language.
That means you can run a UK–US–EU creator matrix — one product, multiple accents, tailored for each audience.

4. Local Regulations and Fulfilment

Each market brings different compliance rules. TikTok is standardising:

• VAT and tax collection via local entities
• Product-safety documentation for cosmetics, supplements and electronics
• Advertising disclosure policies aligned with EU and US standards

Brands already live in the UK will find onboarding simpler, but Somerce recommends auditing:

• Product labelling
• Return policies
• Customer-service language support

If you’re already using FBT, expect auto-migration options to EU warehouses in 2026.

5. New Tools Rolling Out With the Expansion

TikTok is pairing its global rollout with feature upgrades:

• Multi-language listings (auto-translation + SEO tags)
• Cross-border fulfilment analytics
• AI-assisted customer-service chat
• Expanded Creator Affiliate dashboard for multi-country tracking
• Enhanced Live Shopping features – currency-converted pricing and global co-hosting

Somerce clients in beta testing report improved buyer trust and smoother checkout for international audiences.

6. Case Study: UK Beauty Brand Scaling Abroad

A Somerce-managed skincare client piloted cross-border sales into Germany in Q2 2025.
Within six weeks:

• 18 TikTok Lives hosted with local creators
• £95K GMV from Germany alone
• 3.5× ROAS compared to domestic campaigns

The key: localised creator partnerships combined with FBT fulfilment from TikTok’s new EU warehouse.

7. Strategic Steps for 2026

8. The Somerce View

TikTok’s expansion is the biggest e-commerce opportunity since Shopify went global.
For UK brands already active on TikTok Shop, it’s a head start; for those still waiting, it’s the moment to join before the algorithm shifts to global preference.

“The next wave of winners will be the brands that treat TikTok not as social media — but as international infrastructure.”
— Joe Yates, CEO/Founder, Somerce

Somerce is already working with partners to prepare cross-border campaigns, FBT migrations, and global creator strategies ahead of Q1 2026.

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