Industry icons, breakout stars and influential leaders, including Tata Harper, Jonathan Van Ness and Sephora exec Carolyn Bojanowski, joined the stage on day two of the Glossy Beauty & Wellness Summit. But before the fireside chats began, the Glossy team led a town hall conversation with brand representatives, execs and founders to discuss the pain points plaguing businesses in Q4.
Some issues that surfaced were similar to day one’s discussion, such as the cost of influencer marketing and the rapid speed of social trends. But the lion’s share of the discussion revolved around TikTok Shop. Below are the highlights from the session, lightly edited for clarity.
Navigating TikTok Shop’s logistical hurdles
Many of the brand reps shared their frustration over TikTok Shop’s logistical challenges, including signing up for the program without sharing a social security number or personal contact information, as well as general challenges navigating the app.
“I reached out to one of the reps at TikTok and told them that I wasn’t going to give them my social security number or driver’s license number. The person I spoke with was really helpful, and I think I was able to give them my EIN [IRS employee identification number] to stay.”
“It has taken about eight months and three companies to help us, and we are finally verified and ready to go. [We had no luck with the] AI-powered backend — as soon as we got connected, it would shut us down. My advice is you have to have physical people to help you do it. Our rep and companies [made it possible for us]. It’s not that easy.”
“[TikTok] changes the rules all the time. They’re evolving all the time. So my recommendation is to work with someone who is a TikTok partner, because it’s really hard work to do.”
Engaging with influencers
Many brands also discussed the challenges around influencer seeding. One noted that the “spray and pray” strategy of the past decade no longer gets results — namely, because there is simply too much competition.
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“You send a product and they don’t post. It’s just the follow-up [that is killing me]. When I was listening to some of the talks, I realized I might actually have to engage someone [to help] because I don’t have the time. It’s so time-consuming and really doesn’t go anywhere.”
On discounting
The largest complaint, by far, when discussing TikTok Shop was around discounting, with many individuals sharing the pressure to discount, which often negates the brand’s profits.
“We’ve been on TikTok Shop for probably six months, and we did hit some virality for a while with [one of our products]. I think [brands that] used it in the past found it paid off, but it is a lot [to manage and navigate] because it’s kind of a race to lower the price. I understand that TikTok Shop is trying to get new customers, but every time there’s a [sale on Amazon], they’re like, ‘Oh, you have to go lower.’ We have had some success, but it’s almost like, at what cost?”
Navigating retailer relationships
Many brands that Glossy spoke to have felt the internal pressure to meet the consumer on TikTok without alienating existing retailer relationships.
“We’re trying to be sensitive to our retailers and they don’t want us on TikTok Shop, so I just don’t know that it’s a lever I can pull right now.”
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“We are very careful, and we choose not to call TikTok Shop a retailer. … We kind of dance around it. It’s a gray area.”
