If you’re wondering why you can’t find the TikTok shop, there are a few potential reasons. The main thing to understand is that the TikTok shop is not available everywhere yet. TikTok is still testing and rolling out the shop feature gradually.
The TikTok shop is only available in certain regions
As of September 2022, the TikTok shop is only officially available in the following countries/regions:
- Southeast Asia – Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, Philippines
- Europe – United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy, Spain
- Middle East – Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates
- South America – Brazil
- South Korea
So if you are not located in one of those areas, you won’t be able to access the TikTok shop tab or buy products directly on TikTok yet. TikTok is planning to expand the shop feature to more regions, but the rollout is gradual.
You need an updated version of the TikTok app
Even if you are located in a region where TikTok shop is available, you need to make sure you have the latest version of the TikTok app installed. The shop tab will only appear if your app is up-to-date.
To check if your app is updated, go to your device’s app store (App Store for iOS or Play Store for Android), search for TikTok, and see if there is an “Update” button next to it. If so, tap to update to the newest version.
Your account may not have access yet
In the regions where TikTok shop is rolled out, they are still limiting access to the feature as they test it. So even with the latest app in an eligible country, some accounts may not have the shop tab yet.
Access is being granted on a rolling basis. So you may just need to wait a bit longer before it appears for your account. Make sure your app is updated so that you’ll get access as soon as it’s available to you.
You need to meet account requirements
To access the TikTok shop tab and buying features, your account needs to meet certain requirements set by TikTok:
- You must be at least 18 years old.
- Your account must be public.
- Your account must have a profile photo and bio added.
So if your account is private, doesn’t have a photo or bio, or you indicated you’re under 18, you will not have access to the TikTok shop even if it’s available in your region.
Check your account and notification settings
In some cases, even if your account meets the requirements, you still may not see the shop tab. This can happen if you have certain account settings turned off.
To show you the shop tab, you need to have both of these enabled:
- Notifications – Check that notifications are enabled for TikTok in your device settings. The shop feature relies on notifications.
- Personalized ads – Make sure you have personalized ads enabled in your TikTok account settings. The shop uses information to customize product recommendations.
Enabling both notifications and personalized ads gives TikTok shop the necessary permissions to show you product recommendations and notify you of relevant sales.
The shop tab can disappear
Some users have reported that they had access to the TikTok shop, but then the shop tab disappeared from their app. There are a couple reasons this can happen:
- TikTok is still testing shop, so they may be enabling and disabling it for certain accounts as they optimize the feature.
- If your notification or personalized ad settings were changed, TikTok may remove the shop access until those are re-enabled.
So if the tab vanishes, double check your notification and ad settings. You may need to wait for TikTok to re-enable it for your account.
Use a TikTok shop-enabled browser
Currently on TikTok’s mobile apps, the shop is only available as a tab on the bottom nav bar – it doesn’t exist as a standalone web page. But TikTok has introduced an interim shop experience for browsers that allows desktop users to view shop content.
To access this, use one of TikTok’s approved shop browsers: Opera, Yandex or UC Browser. Then visit TikTok in that desktop browser and you should see a “Shop” option in the left side menu that wasn’t there before.
This browser-based shop experience lets you view shoppable videos and products, but you can’t actually buy anything – purchases must be made on mobile. So it’s limited, but gives desktop users a taste of the shop until TikTok launches it fully on more platforms.
Use a VPN to access other regions’ shops
As mentioned above, the TikTok shop is only available in certain countries right now. If you are located somewhere that doesn’t have shop access yet, there is a workaround.
You can use a VPN service to access the TikTok shop offered in another region. For example, connect to a VPN server based in the UK or Germany, and then open TikTok – you should now see the shop tab even if you aren’t actually in that country.
The same method works on desktop using a VPN and one of TikTok’s shop-enabled browsers.
A few warnings about accessing TikTok shop via VPN:
- You will need to make purchases with a payment method issued in the country you are VPN-ing into.
- Shipping will also need to be to an address in that country.
- TikTok may detect the VPN use and block you.
- There may be legal issues buying goods not meant for your country.
But as long as you have a way to pay and ship to the VPN country, it will allow you to test the TikTok shop experience.
Third-party services expand TikTok shop access
Some third-party services are also stepping in to provide TikTok shop functionality beyond the regions where it has officially rolled out.
For example, Shopify now lets Shopify merchants connect their stores to TikTok and tag products in TikTok posts. Users globally can then click to view those products and purchase through Shopify, even if they don’t have access to TikTok’s native shop.
So looking for merchants using these third-party shopping integrations may allow you to access some TikTok shop features until it launches fully in your country.
Shoppable content requires a blue shopping bag icon
It’s important to note that you can’t purchase products directly from just any TikTok video – purchase capability has to be enabled by the creator.
For a TikTok post to be shoppable, the creator has to link specific products to it in the backend first. You’ll then see a blue shopping bag icon on the bottom left corner of the video thumbnail.
If a video doesn’t have that blue shopping bag, you won’t be able to buy anything directly from it, even if you have shop access. Tap on videos with the shopping bag to bring up menus to view products and purchase.
Conclusion
The TikTok shop is still in the early stages, so access is limited until they refine the feature for wider rollout. But if you’re in an eligible region, have an updated app, meet account requirements, and enable necessary notifications and ads, you should now be able to find and use the TikTok shop tab.
If TikTok shop is still unavailable in your area, using a VPN, third-party integrations, or looking for videos marked shoppable with the blue shopping bag icon can help you access some shopping functionality. As TikTok continues expanding the availability of their native shop tab, these alternative options let you get an early glimpse of how TikTok commerce will work.
