You must be aware that TikTok has become a very popular platform all over the world including the US which has become one of its main markets after China. It is also worth noting that prior to the ban from the Indian Government, TikTok was one of the most popular platforms in India as well. However, we were already aware that TikTok wants to do a lot more than let people watch videos on their platform as their main target is not ad revenue but selling e-commerce products via its online store.
Now, we are seeing a report from Bloomberg which reveals that TikTok is moving ahead with its plans to launch the TikTok Shop, its e-commerce shop, in other parts of the world outside China and get their business rolling. TikTok also aims to 4x its online business and their target is to reach $20B in merchandise sales this year. At the moment, TikTok does $4.4B in merchandise sales as of last year which means that it will have to do a lot to achieve its target. “TikTok is betting on markets such as Indonesia, where influencers sell products from denim jeans to lipstick by showing them off in live-streamed videos”, adds the report.
This is another report from this month where we are seeing companies embracing the live streaming culture to promote their e-commerce business and sell products online. We earlier reported that Apple is launching its online live streaming website where you can buy Apple products after watching influencers promote their products. At the moment, it is worth noting that this trend of livestreaming and shopping online via livestreams has not caught up in other parts of the world such as India or the US but it could pick up if the services become seamless. It is also worth noting that TikTok’s expansion in the US along with its e-commerce business is under the scanner as politicians in the US are demanding ban on the platform for national security concerns. However, TikTok has already shifted its servers in the US which is solving part of the problem related to their concerns.