TikTok Plans to Rival… Amazon?
When you think of TikTok’s takeover of the world, what first comes to mind? I’d be it’s what TikTok has been doing so far: short videos, curated feed, bursts of content, dubious privacy practices, music promotion. But that list might change soon as TikTok is now reportedly targeting a whole new area — shopping. Yes, your child’s favorite app is about to rival Amazon. Let’s take a deeper look.
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Just recently, TikTok launched a bunch of job listings, looking for staff for an “international e-commerce fulfillment system” that would be based in the US. The core listings were for employees in Los Angeles and Seattle, both cities already home to TikTok’s offices. This move would expand those facilities and set a new priority for TikTok’s operations in the country, as well as globally.
This comes after TikTok already dipped its toes into shopping with a Shopify partnership and TikTok Shop. Those two ventures have seemingly paid off as the company is clearly gearing up for a major shift and looking to establish warehouses and logistics all over the US.
TikTok Shop is Coming to Town
Reports are saying that TikTok is planning to launch the TikTok Shop in North America in time for the holidays, having been met with pretty lukewarm reception in the UK before. The launch makes sense as the holiday season would likely boost initial sales, giving the venture a stronger start. TikTok’s influence of sales isn’t a secret as artists in the music industry are faced with a prerequisite of “blowing up” on the platform before they’re actually allowed to record an album or go on tour, while books and movies that go viral on TikTok often see a healthy surge in interest.
Whether a holiday-driven uptick and a massive community of content-addicted users is enough to sustain an actual ecommerce business is a whole different question though. When going up against a rival like Amazon, any venture is risky, but one that shifts TikTok away from its roots and pushes the company into the path of the biggest commercial corporation on the planet could be downright suicidal.
