TikTok has become a go-to for many brands as a point of sale.

According to E-marketer, TikTok Shop accounts for nearly 20 per cent of the social commerce market in 2025.

Another study from Sprout Social found that UK TikTok shop sales accounted for 2.14 per cent of all global TikTok shop sales.

It also highlighted that TikTok Live was popular with consumers, with the brand Hair Syrup processing 1,900 orders in just one 10-hour TikTok Live session, which amounted to a 66 per cent spike in sales.

The study also found that 33 per cent of Gen Z users prefer buying from TikTok Live as they can see the product being used.

And the platform just continues to grow.

London-based jewellery firm L’era generated £140,000 in revenue through TikTok Live in 2025 alone.

L’era was founded on 1 August 2023 by a mother and sister duo, Lara Sofia-Mar and Angèle Sofia. Sister Natalia Sofia joined the firm in 2024 as creative director.

While the platform is usually associated with “impulse purchases”, the family-owned demi-fine jewellery firm reported that they sold individual pieces worth nearly £700 via livestream, with its largest order exceeding £1,400.

Lara Sofia-Mar and Angèle Sofia run four two to three-hour livestreams a week, increasing to six during busy periods such as Christmas and Black Friday.

Each stream also involves a giveaway, with larger giveaways reserved for new launches and special occasions. In one session, the jewellery firm gave away over £1,500 worth of jewellery. Many of their repeat shoppers got their first L’era piece through a giveaway win.

We sat down with founder and designer Angèle Sofia to find out more about the brand’s TikTok strategy.

Sofia explains that the social media platform has “completely transformed” the way L’era connects with its audiences.

She says: “Our customers have become more than just buyers; we genuinely get to know them. We often spend time talking about life, not just jewellery, which makes the relationship feel much more personal and authentic.

“Sometimes, during the livestreams, I’ll even joke about how it feels like talking to a friend on FaceTime rather than working!”

And it’s not standard video format that most people think about, which has driven L’era’s success.

She comments: “Standard TikTok videos have had limited direct impact on sales for us. Because our jewellery sits at a higher price point than much of what’s typically sold on TikTok, customers usually need to see the product multiple times and ask questions before purchasing.”

“The real driver of sales has been TikTok Live. Live streams allow customers to see the pieces in detail, ask questions in real-time, and build confidence before purchasing. It’s the repeated exposure and interaction that leads to conversion, rather than a single short-form video for our business”.

According to Sofia, the business’s content allows consumers to see the behind-the-scenes of how the firm runs, which boosts their trust and “makes them feel part of the journey rather than just observers”.

She adds that “raw and genuine content” seems to resonate with her consumer base better than trends and challenges.

Sofia says: “For example, when something has genuinely gone wrong, and we’ve been open about it, that’s often when we see the strongest engagement and most meaningful feedback.

“While trends can be fun and add a sense of light-heartedness to the page, our audience typically responds more positively to honesty and transparency than to highly curated or trend-driven content”.

Sofia makes it clear that trends also don’t drive the brand’s designs and collections, explaining that the firm stands by its values, which centre around offering high-quality jewellery at fair prices.

She adds that the company would not release a lower-quality or cheaper piece just to fit into a TikTok trend in order to increase the volume of sales.

Sofia comments: “Maintaining integrity in our product offering is extremely important to us, and we believe that consistency is one of the key reasons our customers trust and support us. When designing a new collection, I’m always keen to bring something fresh to the jewellery market.”

And that authenticity helps make the short-video platform the strongest performing social media platform for L’era.

She comments: “TikTok delivers our strongest performance by far. The platform feels less polished and more real, which aligns with our family-run personality. It’s also significantly easier to build an engaged community on TikTok compared to other platforms.”

However, she acknowledges that if the brand were more “corporate”, the social media platform probably wouldn’t work as well.

The platform is central to the firm’s wider marketing strategy as it is where L’era “builds trust, nurtures relationships and gives shoppers a deeper understanding of who they are as a mother-daughter business”.

Sofia says: “Rather than focusing purely on quick conversions, we use TikTok to create long-term loyalty. The livestreams, in particular, act as both a sales channel and a brand experience, allowing customers to interact with us in real time, ask questions, get to know us as a family and feel personally connected to the brand”.

She adds that while they don’t run “traditional” TikTok campaigns frequently, they have experimented with small paid promotions to help boost their live streams.

Sofia comments: “If there isn’t a strong reason for customers to join, such as a big sale or huge giveaways, paid promotion can have minimal impact. However, when we’re running a major event, we’ve seen significantly better results.

“Our ROAS can vary dramatically, from 0 to as high as 20, so it can be hit or miss depending on the context and offer”.

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