The TikTok Shop audit we run before we brief a single creator.

Nothing downstream works if the shop itself is throttled, unverified or invisible in your target market.

• Seller account fully verified, with business documents and payout details approved
• Shop is registered for the market you actually ship to, not a neighbouring one
• Shop health / violation history clean; any product takedowns understood and resolved
• Product catalogue synced correctly if you use a store integration, with no duplicate or orphan listings
• Showcase / product tab curated: bestsellers first, dead SKUs hidden
• Shipping templates and delivery promises match what fulfilment can genuinely do
• Return and refund policy published and consistent with local consumer law
• VAT / sales tax handling correct for each market you sell into
• Customer service response time inside platform expectations, with cover for weekends
• Affiliate / creator settings enabled and open-collaboration terms configured deliberately

Creator traffic is high-intent but impatient. The listing has seconds to confirm what the video promised.

• Title leads with the recognisable product noun plus its main benefit, in the local language
• First image reads clearly at thumbnail size, on a dark phone screen
• Image set covers: product alone, in use, scale reference, what's in the box, key spec callout
• Product video on the listing, ideally a 10–20s demo cut from creator content
• Bullet benefits before technical specs; no untranslated boilerplate from a supplier sheet
• Variants named the way customers speak, with correct variant images and no out-of-stock traps
• Price and any strike-through price honest and compliant with local price-display rules
• Sizing, ingredients, materials, allergens, certifications and voltage/plug details present where relevant
• Delivery window and returns stated on the page, not buried in policy links
• Reviews imported or earned, and negative-review themes addressed in the copy
• Claims substantiated: no medical, curative or guaranteed-result language in restricted categories
• Every listing you plan to push through creators is in stock with buffer for a spike

Audit what converts, not what got views. Separate hook performance from product-content fit.

• Top 20 videos mapped by orders, not views, and grouped by hook type
• Hook inventory: problem, result-first, unboxing, comparison, POV, price reveal, myth-bust
• Product benefit visible on screen within the first three seconds
• Demonstration is honest and repeatable — the video shows what the buyer will actually experience
• Spoken and on-screen language native to the market, not machine-translated captions
• Calls to action reference the actual purchase path (product tab, pinned link, LIVE)
• Content produced in 9:16 with captions on, safe zones respected for UI overlays
• Disclosure present and early on every commercial video, in the local convention
• Enough creative volume to test: at least 6–10 variants per hero product per month
• Usage rights secured for organic reposting and paid amplification before you need them
• Best organic assets amplified as Spark Ads / GMV Max instead of new studio ads
• Comment sections mined for objections, then answered in the next content round

This is where most sellers stall: plenty of creator sign-ups, almost no activations.

• Commission rate benchmarked against competing products in the same category and market
• Plan mix deliberate: open collaboration for reach, targeted collaboration for chosen creators
• Sample / seeding policy documented: who qualifies, what they receive, what's expected back
• Sample fulfilment fast and tracked — slow samples are the top cause of dead activations
• Creator brief exists: hooks, must-say points, must-avoid claims, disclosure, deadline, do-not-do list
• Creators screened on audience fit, content quality, disclosure and commercial terms before outreach
• Outreach written in the creator's language, naming the specific product and the specific reason
• Activation tracked as a metric: invited → accepted → sample shipped → posted → sold
• Follow-up sequence for creators who accepted but never posted
• Top performers offered better terms, exclusivity or retainers before a competitor does
• Under-performers re-briefed once with a different hook before being paused
• Contracts cover usage rights, exclusivity, payment terms, disclosure duties and takedown rights

Walk the path yourself on a phone, in the target market, as a first-time buyer.

• Product tag present and correct on every commercial video and LIVE
• Tapped product opens the right variant, in stock, at the expected price
• Total price at checkout matches expectation — no surprise shipping or duties
• Guest / fast checkout path works; payment methods locals actually use are available
• Delivery estimate at checkout matches what the video and listing promised
• Mobile page speed acceptable on a mid-range Android on mobile data
• Vouchers and flash-deal mechanics function and are not double-discounting your margin away
• Free-shipping threshold set against AOV, not guessed
• LIVE path checked separately: pinned product, host callouts, moderator handling questions
• Post-purchase flow: confirmation, tracking, unboxing prompt, review request
• Return rate and reason codes reviewed per SKU, and fed back into the creative brief
• Attribution understood: which orders came from creator content versus other traffic

The unglamorous section that decides whether growth survives contact with a regulator or a platform review.

• Advertising disclosure meets local rules in each market (EU/EEA, UK, US FTC endorsement guides)
• Restricted-category rules checked for supplements, cosmetics, medical devices, alcohol, finance
• Cosmetic and health claims substantiated and documented before creators repeat them
• Consumer rights honoured: EU/UK distance-selling withdrawal period, correct returns handling
• Product safety and labelling compliant, with an accountable EU/UK responsible person where required
• Privacy: any customer or creator data collected has a lawful basis and a retention limit
• Creator agreements signed before samples ship, with disclosure duties written in
• Platform policy dependency acknowledged: commission, algorithm and shop rules can change without notice
• Single points of failure identified: one hero SKU, one creator, one market, one supplier
• Escalation plan for a viral complaint, a safety issue or a listing takedown