This strange trend on TikTok could help bolster live-stream shopping

• A strange trend has emerged on TikTok: creators are acting as video game characters over live streams.
• The popularity of these live streams could have implications for TikTok’s live stream shopping ambitions. 
• The platform has been working to expand its e-commerce strategy with in-app shopping features.

If you scrolled through TikTok recently, you might have swiped across something odd: People are acting like video game characters during live streams on the social media app.

On these live streams, TikTokers act as non-playable video game characters (NPC). They bounce in place and parrot limited phrases while viewers shower them with virtual gifts. While the trend manifested organically from TikTok creators, it could have implications for live-stream shopping in the US, Bloomberg reported.

While TikTok has seen success in Southeast Asian markets with live streamers selling merchandise through the app’s TikTok Shop, TikTok has yet to bring that live-stream shopping success to the States. Other tech giants have also tried and failed to catapult live stream shopping in the US: Instagram doesn’t let users tag items in live streams, and live streaming on YouTube hasn’t gained a large user base.   

For retailers, TikTok live streams could be a goldmine. The app has already established itself as a place where products can go viral overnight, or brands can fall out of favor with bad customer reviews.

And TikTok is taking steps to expand its e-commerce strategy: Currently, the app is trying to incentivize creators with cash bonuses and rewards for using its shopping feature. Earlier this year, TikTok was testing shopping features in the UK, before expanding to the US.

For now, TikTokers trying out the NPC live-streaming trend are reaping the rewards. One TikToker told Bloomberg she makes around $700 an hour from virtual gifts sent to her. Another TikToker, who live-streamed for 21 hours straight, told Bloomberg he made $10,000 in virtual gifts.

Read more about the TikTok live streaming trend Bloomberg reported on here.