From Adweek · Rebecca Stewart · · 1m 20s
How Crocs became TikTok Shop's top seller
The footwear brand earned $52 million in a year by moving fast, failing often, and livestreaming for 31 days straight.
In brief
The footwear brand earned $52 million in a year by moving fast, failing often, and livestreaming for 31 days straight. Success on social commerce requires small, nimble teams with permission to fail fast and scale what works, not bureaucracy and endless meetings. Originally reported by Adweek.
Crocs crowned Seller of the Year
TikTok Shop named Crocs its top seller in May after the brand racked up $52.4 million in sales over 12 months.
Test and learn, not pretend expertise
Crocs' chief brand officer admits they didn't know what they were doing at first. They built a team willing to try, fail, and scale.
“We didn't know what we were doing. We had a whole bunch of people who cared and were willing to try.”
Croctober: 31 days of nonstop streaming
Crocs livestreamed for 744 hours straight throughout October. The marathon tripled followers, generated 550 million impressions, and won a Shorty Award.
Skip the bureaucracy, move fast
Reilly's advice: build small teams who care, give them permission to fail and scale. Too many meetings and opinions slow you down.
“If there are too many meetings, you're losing. If there are too many people, you're losing.”
Live demo sold 200 items in 12 minutes
At Brandweek, Crocs livestreamed from the stage with presenter Liana Gibbs. About 3,000 viewers tuned in and bought 200 products.
Leaning into ugly-cool with Gen Z talent
Crocs turned its awkward look into an asset by partnering with Wisdom Kaye, SZA, and K-pop group aespa on designs and self-expression campaigns.
“I'd love to maybe design my own Croc, but that's a different conversation for another day.”
The bottom line
Success on social commerce requires small, nimble teams with permission to fail fast and scale what works, not bureaucracy and endless meetings.
