TikTok seeks to be a direct competitor to major retailers, such as its compatriot Shein and Amazon US | Photo: Lionel Bonaventure/AFP
ByteDance, owner of TikTok, continues to strive to replicate the sales success it achieved with Douyin in the West — the name of the short video app in China. The latest attempt seeks to make TikTok a direct competitor to major retailers, such as its native Shein and Amazon US. Information taken from the Financial Times.
Understand: The company is testing a division called “Trendy Beat” in the UK, with products it has promoted in its app videos, such as earwax extractors or combing pet hair from clothes.
The difference with TikTok Shop, the platform’s other sales tool, is that these items are produced and marketed by ByteDance itself. The Chinese idea is to monitor what items do well on the platform and scale their production with third-party suppliers — in a model reminiscent of the one used by Shein.
ByteDance has even hired employees from the Chinese retailer to expedite sales work, according to the Financial Times. The TikTok Store, which is available in the UK and is being tested in the US, works like a marketplace, that is, it sells third-party items that are featured in the platform’s short videos — in this case, ByteDance only takes a percentage of the process.
Last month, we showed how the Chinese company is transferring employees who worked on launching the TikTok store in Brazil to send them to markets where the service already exists, but it has not yet achieved the expected success.
What it explains: With a valuation of $300 billion and considered the most valuable startup in the world, ByteDance wants to expand its source of revenue before going public (initial offering of shares on the stock exchange). The inspiration is specifically in Douyin, the sister app to TikTok that has sold more than 10 billion products in one year. (ARTUR BÚRIGO / Folhapress)
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Charlotte Whitmore is a contributor at Mediarunsearch.co.uk, covering a broad range of topics including news, politics, business, technology, sport, entertainment, and lifestyle. She focuses on delivering clear, balanced reporting and practical information that helps readers stay informed about current events and emerging developments. Her work highlights stories that matter to everyday audiences, with an emphasis on accuracy, relevance, and accessible journalism that keeps readers connected to the issues shaping the UK and beyond.