TikTok Shop agency for ecommerce brands: GMV Max, offer and margin

We set up and run TikTok Shop advertising for consumer brands, in the European markets where TikTok Shop runs. We help pick the products and offers to push, coordinate affiliate creators, and read the result as margin per order after commissions, discounts and returns, not as GMV. You can buy it on its own.

Paid media
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Problems we fix

TikTok Shop sells inside the TikTok app. Sending TikTok buyers to your own site is our TikTok ads agency for ecommerce brands service. Splitting budget across channels sits on our paid media agency for ecommerce page.

The problem

GMV went up. So did commission. Then returns came back.

How we fix it

Margin per order after platform commission, creator commission, discounts and returns, next to the GMV TikTok shows.

What you get

GMV Max campaigns

TikTok's help page describes GMV Max as an automation solution for TikTok Shop ads1. TikTok's business blog presents it as one campaign across paid, organic and affiliate activity2. We set it up and run it.

Catalogue connected to the ad account

The products you sell are the products you advertise.

Product and offer choices

Which products to push, at what discount, and which only look good before costs.

Affiliate coordination

Which products creators can promote, which creators to invite, and how their commission fits your margin per order.

A market and category check

What TikTok Shop allows in your countries and categories, before any plan.

Margin reporting

Margin per order after platform commission, creator commission, discounts and returns, next to the GMV TikTok shows.

The platform background is in TikTok ads for ecommerce.

What's in scope, and what isn't?

Three parts: advertising (GMV Max), economics (offer and margin) and affiliate coordination. That's what this service covers.

Live selling and daily shop operations are not part of this service, and we don't promise them here.

Why is GMV Max ROI not profit?

Because of what it counts. TikTok says GMV Max optimises for total channel ROI and attributes all orders of promoted products to the campaign, including orders from organic content and affiliates1. So the campaign gets credit for orders a creator's post may have brought, with commission already paid.

It also ignores cost of goods, commissions, discounts and returns. A healthy ROI can sit on a loss per order.

Example (illustrative): An order brings in €40 in GMV. After product cost, platform commission, creator commission, discount and a share of returns, little or nothing may be left before ad cost. GMV Max ROI still looks fine.

For ZFD: GMV is TikTok's headline. Contribution margin per order is yours. The longer version: TikTok Shop GMV Max profitability.

How does the work run?

  1. 1

    Problem

    Markets, categories, catalogue and your cost per order. Can TikTok Shop pay for you at all?

  2. 2

    Plan

    Products, offers, GMV Max setup and the margin each decision needs to clear. Before launch, we agree how the result will be judged.

  3. 3

    Execution

    We run GMV Max, coordinate affiliate creators, adjust products and offers, and keep catalogue and tracking in order. Tracking details: TikTok Pixel and Events API setup.

  4. 4

    Decision

    When the data can be read, you hear one of three things: it pays, it doesn't, or the data can't tell yet.

Case studies

Rebuilding a growth engine for a recovery-footwear brand

A category-defining recovery-footwear brand had a growing market, a best-in-class product, and a shrinking customer base.

A recovery-footwear brand
+27.8%
net-new customers, full year over prior year
−33%
cost per new customer, exit quarter vs starting quarter

All Ears Vet: 37% more new clients for an independent Brooklyn clinic

A 37% increase in new client acquisition.

37%
increase in new customer acquisition
4.5k
impression increase in brand-related keywords

Bergman Eyewear: building brand awareness among women 30+ at a falling cost of reach

43% lower CPM and 360% more reach.

43%
drop in the cost per thousand ad impressions (CPM)
41%
drop in the cost per click (CPC)

All case studies

How do we measure TikTok Shop results?

Two numbers side by side. What TikTok reports, and margin per order. We say which one the decision rests on.

Fees from the source. TikTok's Seller Center sets commission by product category3, under its EU seller terms4. Trade media have reported changes to TikTok Shop fees in Europe5. So we take current rates from your Seller Center when we plan.

Affiliates counted as cost. TikTok's Seller Center describes an affiliate programme where creators earn commission on sales, including target collaborations with chosen creators67. We coordinate those creators, and their commission comes out of your margin, so it goes into the numbers.

New vs existing customers. Split where the data allows, so existing buyers changing checkout don't count as growth.

“Their performance met and often exceeded our expectations.”
Gabriel BabusOwner, STEGA Creative · Clutch review

Is TikTok Shop available in your markets?

Maybe. TikTok's newsroom has announced TikTok Shop expanding to more European countries8. TikTok's seller guidance describes Sell Across EU, where a seller registered in one market can sell into others, with limits by category9. TikTok's GMV Max one-sheet lists the UK, Spain, France, Ireland and Italy among its European markets10. Features differ by market, so we check yours.

TikTok also keeps EU lists of prohibited and restricted products1112. Its seller guidance says your shop's health score takes account of policy violations across all EU markets13. We check your catalogue against both lists before anything is listed. For more, read TikTok Shop for brands in Europe.

Who it's for and who it's not for

How you can buy it

On its own

TikTok Shop can be bought as a standalone service.

Already running GMV Max? Start with a free ad account audit

It compares what TikTok reports with your orders and margin. It is one of our four free audits, not a full review of your shop, catalogue or affiliates. Ask for it when you book a call about your TikTok Shop plans.

We don't publish prices. Fee terms are agreed before we start.

Tools

GMV MaxSeller CenterTikTok PixelEvents API

FAQ

A rider in a red cape and bicorne hat on a rearing yellow plush horse, after David's Napoleon Crossing the Alps

How do you measure TikTok Shop campaigns?

Before calling anything profitable we take off fees, creator commissions, discounts and returns, and split new from existing customers.

Do you run our TikTok Shop day to day, including live selling and affiliates?

Affiliates, yes: we coordinate affiliate creators alongside the ads and the economics. Live selling and daily shop operations are not part of the scope described here.

What is GMV Max, and why does it matter?

TikTok Shop's automated campaign type. TikTok credits it with every order of a promoted product, organic and affiliate orders included. We recalculate it on margin.

What does TikTok Shop cost us in fees?

A commission per order that depends on the product category, plus creator commission if you use affiliates. Rates change, so we take them from your Seller Center, not from blog posts.

What can't we sell on TikTok Shop in the EU?

Anything on TikTok's EU prohibited list. Restricted products come with TikTok's own conditions. We check your catalogue against both lists first.

Is TikTok Shop worth it for an established brand?

It can be, if margin per order survives the costs and you can keep producing content. A vendor that sells TikTok Shop services points to content as the investment brands tend to underestimate14. We check both before spending on ads.

Can we hire you for TikTok Shop only?

Yes. TikTok Shop can be bought on its own or together with TikTok ads.

What we don't promise

Who runs this for you?

  • Oleksandra Bondar, Creator Marketing Specialist & Project Manager

    Creator Marketing Specialist & Project Manager

    Oleksandra Bondar

    Thirteen workstreams. About twenty specialists. One direction. Plus creators who fit your customer, not just a follower count.

Want to know whether TikTok Shop can make money for you?

Book a call about your TikTok Shop plans. If you already run GMV Max, ask for the free ad account audit.