The social media network TikTok Shop, a marketplace for social commerce, has introduced its “Preowned Luxury” category to the UK market.
Declared on 22nd April, Earth Day, the move allows TikTok to compete with high-end secondhand markets like The RealReal, Vestiaire Collective, Depp, and Poshmark while also reaching a wider audience in the United States.
With this new category, UK consumers may purchase a variety of pre-owned luxury accessories, purses, and clothing without ever leaving the TikTok app. Five carefully chosen brands—Luxe Collective, Sellier, Sign of the Times, HardlyEverWornIt, and Break Archive—were partnered with TikTok Shop at the time of its launch.
“This announcement is an exciting first step in the world of preowned fashion for TikTok Shop,” said Jan Wilk, head of operations at TikTok Shop UK, in a statement.
The “Preowned Luxury” category, which is the newest addition to TikTok Shop UK, expands upon other previously introduced categories such as “Fresh Flowers & Live Plants.” The TikTok Shop has sold over US $ 1 billion since its launch in 2022. However, despite its successes, others have criticised it, saying that by permitting fake and subpar goods, it takes away from the main purpose of the app.
The problem of authenticity is a prevalent one on large online marketplaces such as Amazon and eBay, particularly when it comes to preowned luxury products. According to a recent report by Bloomberg, the social media site was in talks with luxury firm LVMH about countering counterfeit goods.
In order to ensure the authenticity of designer handbags sold on the marketplace, TikTok Shop US works with Entrupy and Real Authentication to check third-party authentication certificates for all secondhand brands.
