UK electronics giant Currys has launched on TikTok Shop, taking its consumer technology range directly onto the social media platform. 

Currys, which is broadly comparable to JB Hi-Fi in Australia, is a major bricks-and-mortar and online retailer that sells consumer electronics, technology and appliances, and is supported by an extensive store network and services operation. It operates close to 300 stores across the UK and Ireland, with its wider group operating across six countries. 

The initial TikTok Shop launch by Currys is being treated as trial, wiht the company offering a curated selection of products for sale that span everything from audio and coffee, to health and beauty. 

Customers will be able to discover and purchase products without leaving the TikTok platform in a move comes as retailers look to turn entertainment and product discovery into a sales channel.

Currys will also work with content creators and run TikTok Live shopping events, allowing products to be demonstrated in real time. Viewers can then make purchases directly from the stream.

The retailer says its products could potentially be exposed to more than 30 million monthly TikTok users in the UK through the new channel. Its existing TikTok presence has already generated more than 10 million likes. 

Ed Connolly, Chief Commercial Officer at Currys, said social media had become a genuine shopping destination and that the TikTok Shop launch was a natural extension of their existing social presence.

The initiative is being delivered with THG Commerce, which will handle the TikTok Shop strategy, trading and store management, as well as weekly live streams and affiliate management.

There is a growing convergence between social media, entertainment and ecommerce, particularly in consumer electronics, where demonstrations, reviews and influencer content can help drive the discovery, and sale, of products. 

Currys already operates a large omnichannel model that combines physical stores with its website and customer services. The retailer describes itself as the UK’s largest consumer electronics and appliance retailer, with more than 1,000 brands and 10,000-plus products.

The TikTok trial gives consumers a route into Currys, allowing customers to encounter products through content before moving directly into a transaction, on the one platform.

It will be one to watch in Australia as consumers’ attention is largely taken up by social platforms and online marketplaces.

If Currys can demonstrate that this new strategy, combining TikTok Live, creators and in-app purchasing, can generate meaningful sales, it could cause traditional electronics retailers to rethink where and how customers discover technology, with the potential for social platforms to become an important part of the retail sales funnel.