TikTok reportedly aims to boost merchandise sales to $20 billion this year - Pin...

TikTok reportedly aims to boost merchandise sales to $20 billion this year

TikTok reportedly aims to boost merchandise sales to $20 billion this year

17 hours ago

TikTok hopes to more than quadruple the size of its global e-commerce business this year to $20 billion in merchandise sales, Bloomberg reported Wednesday, citing people familiar with the matter.

TikTok is betting on Southeast Asia, where it generates the most e-commerce sales, to achieve that goal, according to the report. That's a big leap from last year when the emerging market reached a total merchandise value of $4.4 billion.

The short-video platform launched its e-commerce service TikTok Shop in the U.K. in 2021, which allows brands and influencers to link to buy products in videos or sell in-app purchasable products via live streaming. It subsequently expanded the service to Southeast Asian countries, including Vietnam, Indonesia, Thailand and others.

The social media e-commerce model has been a huge success in Southeast Asia, but it has failed to gain sufficient traction with Western consumers and content creators, especially in the UK.

Meanwhile, its official launch in the US was delayed from early spring to as early as June due to merchants' concerns that the app could be banned and the lukewarm adoption of live e-commerce in the US, the Wall Street Journal said.

Last year, as a way to address US regulators' concerns about data security, TikTok entered into a partnership with Los Angeles-based TalkShopLive to launch its live shopping platform in North America by outsourcing operations.

A recent report from the Financial Times said TikTok had restructured its e-commerce business in an effort to refocus on markets such as the UK and the US

SHARE