What TikTok Can Teach Marketplaces About Social Shopping’s Sweet Spot

Remember the days when brands could only dream of reaching customers beyond their local storefronts? That limitation now feels as outdated as a landline.

“You have to solve for what the customer needs to be successful,” Sandie Hawkins, newly appointed president at Teikametrics, told PYMNTS Karen Webster. This philosophy has driven her transition from leading TikTok’s U.S. eCommerce division to helming a software platform that empowers brands to thrive across multiple marketplaces.

In today’s digital age, brands are no longer confined to traditional retail spaces. Marketplaces like Amazon and emerging social commerce platforms have opened up unprecedented opportunities for brands to connect with customers they might never have reached otherwise.

“If you’re not on a marketplace, your brand doesn’t exist to the people shopping there,” Hawkins explained, likening marketplaces to digital malls where visibility alone can drive sales. This shift has allowed even small, niche brands to compete on a global stage, reaching customers far beyond their geographical limitations.

Social Commerce and Consumers

Social commerce platforms, in particular, have revolutionized how brands connect with potential customers. “It’s like your friends are telling you how cool [a product] is, and now you want to buy it,” Hawkins said, noting that “shopping behaviors have changed dramatically.” These platforms excel at leveraging creators to demonstrate products, making shopping more experiential and appealing to consumers’ desire for authentic recommendations.

However, as brands expand their presence across multiple marketplaces and platforms, they face a new challenge: fragmented data. “If you’re selling on Amazon, Walmart or TikTok, your data is isolated to that platform,” Hawkins pointed out. This lack of holistic visibility can hinder brands from optimizing their strategies effectively.

This realization led Hawkins to transition from her role at TikTok to Teikametrics, a software platform that uses AI to help brands navigate the complex, multichannel eCommerce landscape.

“AI can solve complex problems and make them simple,” she explained. The platform analyzes product listings, sales data and consumer behavior across channels, allowing brands to optimize their strategies in real time and maximize their reach across various marketplaces.

Hawkins’ move reflects a broader trend in the industry: the need for tools that empower brands to succeed in an increasingly fragmented and competitive eCommerce environment. While marketplaces provide unprecedented access to customers, brands need sophisticated solutions to make the most of these opportunities.

The shift from leading a marketplace to developing software that helps brands succeed across multiple platforms underscores a crucial point: in today’s eCommerce landscape, it’s not just about being present on marketplaces, but about strategically optimizing that presence to reach and engage the right customers.

As Hawkins puts it, “Brands need to focus on creating strong content that resonates with consumers and improves visibility on platforms like Amazon and Walmart.”

By leveraging AI-powered tools, she says that brands can test and iterate their strategies at scale, ensuring they’re not just reaching more customers but reaching the right customers with the right message.

Hawkins says that solutions like Teikametrics are making this possible, helping brands turn the vast potential of digital marketplaces into tangible success.