SINGAPORE — While many of his peers are sleeping, gaming or studying at 2am on a weekday night, 18-year-old Sachin Nagappan is doing a TikTok livestream. 

He is not dancing or creating humorous content but selling household products — ranging from instant coffee to laundry pods. 

The polytechnic student runs e-commerce business SGBestDeal with his mother, Ms Ramya Manickam, 44.

When they started during the Covid-19 circuit breaker period in 2020, they sold their items through various e-commerce platforms. But now sales from livestreams on TikTok bring in the most orders — averaging up to 1,500 a month. 

“At first we were worried because our items are not very attractive to the younger crowd, but we put a fun twist to it so they actually find it interesting,” said Mr Sachin. In March this year, 50,000 viewers watched him peddling coloured laundry pods.

SGBestDeal’s customers are reflective of the demographic of TikTok users — mainly 18 to 35-year-olds tune in — and, in turn, many young business owners are using the platform to reach out to their peers.  

There is now a boom in TikTok Shop accounts – the number of shops has increased fivefold here since October last year. Around 60 per cent of these shops do livestreams during periods like the 10.10 Shopping Sale. 

In response to TODAY’s queries, TikTok said that there are more than 100,000 TikTok Shop livestreams sessions in Singapore hosted on the platform each month. 

OTHER USERS ‘ROOTING’ FOR YOU, SELLERS KNOW YOU BY NAME 

Unlike other social media platforms, TikTok Shop allows users to pay for purchases within the app. But payment ease aside, consumers say the main draw is the ability to watch the livestreams of shops and their products. 

Users who have made purchases from a livestream said that they like the “community” element of livestreams, which includes making friends with other users, having sellers call out their names when they appear and having others weigh in on what they should buy.

Ms Enriquez Chiara Alessandra, a 23 year-old nurse, said that she was initially worried that products bought on TikTok might arrive with items missing or that she may get scammed.

But after a positive experience buying products from a local body care shop Benew, she was hooked. 

Now she even volunteers as a moderator for the company, helping to filter out inappropriate comments or putting up banners of products during livestreams.

For Ms Frances Pek, a 24-year-old consultant, she enjoys how strangers would be “rooting for you” when you’re making purchases.

She follows a number of TikTok shops, including one that sells “blind box” collectible figurines, which means one purchases a box without knowing which character is in there and there’s an option for the seller to open your box during a livestream.

As questions about a product can be answered very quickly by a seller, consumers may feel like they are making a more informed decision before buying, said Ms Pek.

The livestream hosts said they have built relationships with regular customers whom they recognise by their usernames.

For such customers, the sellers try to provide personalised attention like asking for feedback on their products or including gifts with purchases.

When it comes to new viewers, the hosts will try to find out their needs or tastes – for example, a particular skin condition or preference for sweet smells – to provide a personal recommendation. 

For candles and skincare business Emporal founded by sisters Grace and Lena Lim, hosting livestreams offers a “one-to-one” experience for customers, who can seek their expertise, recommendations and view other customers’ comments in real time.