TikTok is trying out another way to get users interested in its in-app shopping options, offering free listings, free shipping and initially no sales commissions to a number of retailers as part of its recent effort to expand the app’s commerce potential .
As Bloomberg reports, TikTok hopes to attract more businesses with this new offering, which could result in a slew of cheap products pouring into users’ feeds.
According to Bloomberg:
“[The] The video service has begun to showcase itself as a free marketplace through a series of seminars and meetings with Chinese manufacturers and exporters. It means offering free quotes, shipping, no commissions and even warehousing for everyone: a tactic likely to disrupt a market now dominated by also Chinese-owned rivals Temu and Sheinand possibly even undercut Amazon.”
Temu and Shein are leading a new assault on Western consumers as they try to aggressively expand into new markets by offering loss-making deals on a range of items to lure bargain-hunting web users.
Which, given the current economic climate, affects pretty much every one of us. And with access to a huge catalog of different items, both retailers hope this new push will help them integrate into these new markets and make them a more common source of e-commerce going forward.
TikTok has been trying to do the same for a while.
Last October, reports suggested that TikTok was looking to set up its own fulfillment centers in Seattle and Los Angeles to directly deliver the products sold in the app, while more recently some UK users are observing a new “Trendy Beat” shopping section In -Stream showing products distributed by TikTok itself.
The idea is to help users become more accustomed to the in-app shopping elements by handling their own product orders, cheap prices, and streamlined shipping, which would then allow TikTok to expand its product listings to third-party providers . Essentially, this element is boosted.
Positioning itself as a connecting layer between other Chinese retailers could be another way to expand its direct product offering, which would essentially allow TikTok to offer many more products that can be delivered faster through these deals, making it a more attractive product discovery experience – and market segment would make purchase target.
What TikTok really wants to achieve.
Despite various efforts, TikTok’s in-stream commerce push has so far failed to gain momentum in western markets — although it has become its top revenue stream in the Chinese version of the app. TikTok is seeing wider commerce adoption in some Asian markets, including Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia. However, Western users still seem largely reluctant to combine their social media and shopping experiences, preferring either physical shopping or dedicated apps.
Perhaps this new push will change that.
It’s the right time as people are looking for better deals and the range of products is expanding on the app. This will likely result in even more of the approximately one billion users using the app and making direct purchases.
Expect a lot more random, trending products to show up in your TikTok feeds in the second half of the year, as TikTok looks for new ways to generate more interest and awareness in its in-app purchase options.
