TikTok Taps Peloton for New Fitness Content Hub
TikTok and Peloton are teaming up to launch a new fitness hub on the social media platform — #TikTokFitness — marking the first time that Peloton will produce bespoke social content for a partner outside of Peloton-owned channels.
Within the new space on TikTok, Peloton will have its own dedicated hub — #TikTokFitness Powered by Peloton — that will include select live Peloton classes (with and without equipment required), original Instructor series, ongoing creator partnerships, Peloton class clips and celebrity collaborations. The #TikTokFitness Powered by Peloton hub will be available in the U.S., UK and Canada.
“Culture, communities and conversations live on TikTok and this offers brands an opportunity to deeply connect with their audiences,” said Sofia Hernandez, Global Head of Business Marketing at TikTok in a statement. “When it comes to the fitness category, we have thousands of communities coming together to connect on everything from #thefitnessjourney to bonding as #runnersoftiktok. We’re thrilled that this partnership will bring inspirational fitness content and entertain Peloton users who come to TikTok to learn, connect with instructors, share fitness journeys and find community.”
Peloton’s recent “Anyone. Anytime. Anywhere.” branding refresh — which debuted in May 2023 as the company faced a product recall of 2.1 million potentially faulty original Peloton bikes and other headwinds — will ground the look and feel of its TikTok hub, “reinforcing the brand’s commitment to making fitness more accessible,” according to the statement. The company also teamed up with Lululemon in September 2023 to become the apparel brand’s exclusive digital fitness content provider.
“Peloton and TikTok both move at the speed of culture to better serve our respective audiences,” said Oli Snoddy, VP of Consumer Marketing at Peloton in a statement. “We collectively recognize the way people engage with fitness is constantly changing. Our team is excited to complement TikTok’s already burgeoning fitness content by introducing the magic of Peloton to new audiences, and in completely new ways.”
The TikTok Shop Honeymoon is Over
The Peloton announcement comes as TikTok makes significant changes to another big initiative — its ecommerce program, TikTok Shop. Launched in the U.S. in September 2023, TikTok initially powered early growth of the program by offering sellers low fees and subsidies. On Jan. 3, TikTok told sellers that it will start raising the commission it charges on most items sold through TikTok Shop to 8% from the current 2%, plus 30 cents per transaction, The Information reported.
The move is not uncommon for new online marketplaces — lure in sellers with low fees and then gradually raise those fees once the platform has proven itself. And TikTok Shop has proven itself, with many sellers reporting explosive sales during the recent holiday period and even before. But that success came at a cost to TikTok, which according to The Information was expected to lose more than $500 million on its Shop endeavor in the U.S. in 2023. TikTok’s new commission rate will still be lower than Amazon’s, which charges anywhere from 8% to 20% commission depending on the product category. One area where TikTok’s commission will now be higher is in low-cost clothing, where Amazon just announced plans to dramatically reduce fees from 15% to 5% in an effort to compete with discount shopping apps Temu and Shein.
