TikTok Shop Plans to Launch in Saudi Arabia, South Korea and Australia in Q1 2027

August 11 news: Sources indicate that TikTok Shop is expected to launch three new marketplaces in Saudi Arabia, South Korea, and Australia in the first quarter of 2027, targeting three vastly different market ecosystems: the Middle East market with high average order values and low e-commerce penetration, the mature e-commerce market driven by Hallyu (Korean Wave) culture, and the high-net-worth, low-competition English-speaking Australia and New Zealand market.

Saudi Arabia has 28 million monthly active users, with e-commerce penetration at only around 10%. During Ramadan, beauty product sales see a 300% month-on-month increase, but the market has high barriers including SASO certification and a 15% VAT, making it suitable for sellers to enter via full-service fulfillment models or direct mail for product testing, Arabic-language live streaming, and standard product offerings.

South Korea's annual e-commerce transaction volume exceeds $150 billion. K-beauty products generated $2 billion in sales in the U.S. over the past six months, and TikTok's K-beauty hashtags garner 250 million views per week. The platform's strategy for the market may follow the rollout pace used for Japan, where unbranded mass merchandise struggles to compete against local brands, requiring sellers to pursue branding strategies, leverage the influence of the Korean Wave, and adopt localized operations.

Source: Ebrun Go. Ebrun's automated writing robot delivers real-time e-commerce industry intelligence powered by algorithms. This tool is still in its early stages, please contact run@ebrun.com or leave comments to help it improve.