TikTok’s adding another shopping-type functionality to the app, this time for purchasing movie tickets in-stream, via a new partnership with Fandango.
As you can see in these examples, TikTok users will now be able to purchase movie tickets in the app, via a direct “Get tickets” CTA button linked to dedicated movie promotions in-stream.
As explained by TikTok:
“With a thriving #FilmTok community connecting over a shared love of movies, TikTok has become a leading destination for entertainment discovery. Today with Fandango, the nation’s leading online movie ticketer, we're announcing a first-of-its-kind partnership that gives entertainment fans the ability to go from movie discovery to ticket purchase directly within the TikTok app.”
The option could be a valuable means to drive movie ticket sales, with TikTok also reporting that almost 50% of U.S. TikTok users have discovered a new movie coming to theaters in the app. That’s a large, engaged audience to tap into, and providing a means for them to purchase tickets then and there could be a valuable promotional opportunity.
It could also help to boost movie discussion in the app, and make TikTok a bigger hub for cultural connection, both on and off-platform.
It’s the latest in TikTok’s expanding in-stream shopping tools, with the platform looking to integrate more and more in-stream buying options as a means to build on its revenue potential.
TikTok also offers event ticket sales, primarily focused on music concerts, which enables artists to capitalize on the value of TikTok as a music discovery tool, while it’s also got a range of shopping options available via its steadily expanding TikTok Shop option.
TikTok’s hope is that it will eventually be able to replicate the success that it’s seen in the Chinese market with in-app shopping, with its expanded shopping options now generating hundreds of billions in revenue in the local Chinese market.
TikTok Shop is one part of this, but the Chinese version of the app has also moved into food delivery services, ride hailing, basically all manner of online shopping and services options are now available, expanding on its business ecosystem.
TikTok hasn’t extended into the same in Western markets as yet. But that seems to be where it’s headed, with ticket sales being another step in the broader expansion of its shopping options.
And again, with so many TikTok users already engaging with film-related content, it could be a handy integration, offering more ways to get people conducting purchase activity in the app.
