TikTok Shop Expands In Europe, H&M Digitally Clones Models For Ads, & India's Q-Com Market Grows

Over the past few years, the number of online shoppers has grown exponentially.

Over 33% of the world's population shops online, making Ecommerce a $6.8 trillion industry that’s expected to reach $8 trillion by 2027. Furthermore, with 79% of shoppers shopping online at least once a month, Ecommerce sales have seen a growth rate of 10% annually. Even in the B2B sector, 65% of B2B businesses across all industries offer Ecommerce services.

Check out more Ecommerce stats, as well as stats for other industries.

This tremendous growth rate has seen a wide range of companies enter the Ecommerce segment—even if unrelated—to offer online shopping options on their websites or mobile applications.

TikTok is one such example. Best known for its social media content, TikTok has helped numerous content creators, individual business owners, and artists make a big name for themselves. The platform provided them with a base to showcase their products to millions of viewers across the world.

To enhance such experiences, the company introduced TikTok Shop, which offers users an integrated, interactive shopping experience, allowing merchants, businesses, and creators to display and sell their products through TikTok’s diverse media options—videos on the feed, live videos, and product showcase tabs.

However, with TikTok’s fate in the United States hanging in the balance, the company could face a massive loss of users in its TikTok Shop product. Even in Europe, TikTok Shop is available only to users in the United Kingdom (since 2021). Interestingly, TikTok Shop didn’t appear in the U.S. until September 2023, which saw it achieve strong sales over the holiday season.

Now, TikTok is coming to more countries in Europe, beginning with France, Germany, and Italy, which is expected to commence from Monday, March 31.

“In France, Germany, and Italy, we are already working with merchants to get their products listed on the platform, and TikTok Shop will be available to our TikTok users from next Monday,” Jan Wilk, Head of Operations at TikTok Shop U.K., told Reuters in an interview.

Wilk added, “My own expectation for Europe is to launch with more speed than we did in the U.K., because in the U.K. four years ago this model was very new, we had to do a lot of education, we had to try out a lot of things to get the right fit.”

At the same time, TikTok is looking to attract more Europe-based sellers to the platform.

So far, TikTok has shared that supermarket chain Carrefour (France), fast-fashion retailer AboutYou (Germany), and cosmetics brand Cosnova (Germany) will begin selling on the platform.


While TikTok is trying to attract more brands, fashion retailer H&M is turning to AI (artificial intelligence) and digital twin technology.

H&M is attempting to recreate digital clones of 30 models—with consent, of course—which it plans to use in social media posts, advertisements, and marketing collateral. H&M will also use watermarks to clarify AI’s use in images.

The retail fashion brand expects there will be backlash from people, which is why it will aim to bring the models into the process. Here, the models will own and control their digital variants, and it will be up to them to decide if H&M should use the twins—for which they will get paid.

“People will be divided. You know, ‘Is this good? Is this bad?’” said Jörgen Andersson, H&M’s Chief Creative Officer. Andersson feels AI is coming either way, regardless of who ignores it.

Talking about the solution, Andersson added, “We saw that as a way, as a big player in the industry, to lead a conversation that takes the model, the agency and the best interest of the fashion industry into consideration.”

The move comes despite H&M claiming it would not change its “human-centric approach,” leading to some worrying it could impact other models, photographers and make-up artists.


The online shopping fever is global, and there’s no question about it.

In India, the quick commerce sector accounted for over two-thirds of all e-grocery orders in 2024, a leap that saw its total market share grow to $6-7 billion from 2022 or approx. five times, as per a report by Bain and Flipkart. Furthermore, its market share is expected to grow over 40% annually till 2030. In 2024, the sector attracted over 20 million online shoppers annually serviced by over 400,000 people.

These platforms deliver more than just simple groceries, extending to smartwatches, smartphones, and a wide range of electronics, fashion, apparel, and more, more often in less than 30 minutes.

It’s no wonder that Jumbotail, one of India’s leading B2B marketplaces, is set to acquire Solv India, an incubated venture of SC Ventures—Standard Chartered’s innovation, fintech investment and ventures arm.

“We believe that millions of India’s kiranas [grocers] and MSME entrepreneurs should and will play a pivotal role in creating a more efficient, resilient and inclusive economy,” said Ashish Jhina, Co-Founder and COO of Jumbotail.

“Jumbotail’s strength across the entire food and grocery value chain, and Solv India’s differentiated capabilities in apparel, home furnishing, footwear and toys is a unique combination with immense potential.”


Do you think TikTok Shop will enjoy success in the European market? Do you think H&M’s move to digitally clone models is a fashion forward statement?

Let us know in the comments below!