TikTok Shop is upgrading its category system from a 3-level (L3) to a 7-level (L7) structure to provide more detailed, searchable, and compliant product listings, aligning with the platform’s latest taxonomy standards.
This migration affects how product categories and attributes are mapped — both when you create new products and when you update existing ones.
CedCommerce ensures a smooth and automated migration experience, helping you stay compliant while enhancing your product visibility and listing accuracy.
What Is the Level 7 Category System?
In the old system, categories had three levels — e.g.,
Beauty & Personal Care → Skincare → Face Creams
With the new 7-level structure, products are placed under deeper, more precise hierarchies:
Beauty & Personal Care → Skincare → Face Creams → Moisturizing → Hydrating Creams → Day Cream → SPF-infused
This granularity enables TikTok Shop to support category-specific attributes, such as ingredient type, purpose, target demographic, or finish, thereby improving both listing quality and buyer discovery.
Why This Migration Matters
Migrating to L7 categories ensures your store remains compliant with TikTok’s latest standards while gaining several benefits:
- Better product discovery through refined and accurate categorization.
- More precise attribute mapping reduces listing or attribute validation errors.
- Higher visibility and reach, as products now appear in more relevant buyer searches.
- Improved analytics and ad targeting, thanks to richer product data.
- Future-readiness for TikTok’s evolving eCommerce ecosystem.
How CedCommerce Makes It Seamless
Your CedCommerce TikTok Shop Integration is built to handle this migration efficiently with minimal manual effort.
Here’s how CedCommerce supports you:
- Automatic Migration: All existing L3 categories are mapped to their corresponding L7 leaf categories through system-level updates.
- In-App Mapping Tools: Sellers can review or adjust category mappings directly from the Category Mapping section in the CedCommerce app.
- For Shopify Users
- For PrestaShop Users
- For BigCommerce Users
- For WooCommerce Users
- Smart Recommendations: CedCommerce leverages TikTok’s Recommended Category API to suggest the most relevant L7 leaf category based on product titles, descriptions, and images.
- Accurate Attribute Sync: The app fetches category-specific attributes (via TikTok’s Listing Schema) to ensure every product includes all required details for successful listing.
- Batch or Single Upgrades: Whether you want to migrate all active products at once or update individual listings, CedCommerce provides both options through an intuitive interface.
How the Migration Works
TikTok Shop defines three main migration scenarios — all of which are supported through CedCommerce:
1. Creating New Products in L7 Categories
When you create new products:
- The integration automatically fetches the latest leaf category IDs using TikTok’s Recommend Category API.
- Product details (title, description, image) help determine the best-fit L7 category.
- Required and supported attributes are pulled, ensuring compliance before publishing.
2. Updating Existing Products
For your active products:
- CedCommerce helps batch-upgrade all listings through TikTok’s Upgrade Category API.
- Sellers can also update individual products with the new L7 category and attributes if needed.
- Real-time status and webhook updates reflect progress directly within your dashboard.
3. Manual Category Mapping
You can manually re-map categories if needed:
- Select a product, retrieve its new category level, and assign it using the in-app mapping interface.
- CedCommerce ensures that your chosen TikTok leaf category aligns with your existing platform category.
What You Need to Do
For most sellers, no action is required. CedCommerce’s automation handles the migration in the background as soon as you click on the required action tab. Or, you can also initiate the migration directly from your TikTok Shop account.
However, to ensure smooth syncing and listing compliance, we recommend:
- Review migrated categories under Products → Category Mapping.
- Verify required attributes in each product’s detail view.
- Update missing information, if any, in mandatory fields that appear post-migration.
- Re-sync your listings to TikTok Shop to finalize the update.
In Summary
The migration from Level 3 to Level 7 categories represents TikTok Shop’s next step toward precision, compliance, and smarter discovery.
With CedCommerce, you don’t have to worry about APIs or manual rework — we handle the technical lift for you, ensuring your listings remain accurate, visible, and future-ready.
CedCommerce = Effortless Migration. Smarter Selling. Better Results.