TikTok to launch e-commerce platform

Hopes to take Chinese products to US consumers

HONG KONG:

TikTok plans to launch a programme in August to help Chinese merchants sell goods globally, and will officially roll it out first to consumers in the United States, a person familiar with the matter said.

Seeking to replicate the success shopping platforms like Shein and PDD Holdings’ Temu have had in the US, the Chinese-owned short-video platform will provide a suite of services ranging from storage to shipping to merchants in China to help them sell in the US, said the person, who declined to be named because the information is not public.

The Wall Street Journal first reported TikTok’s plans to launch the platform on Tuesday.

The programme, called “full service” by TikTok, is already being tested in markets such as Britain. TikTok is working towards an official launch in the US in August but has yet to commit to an exact date, the person added.

The programme has not been created only to help Chinese businesses as TikTok plans to eventually introduce it to merchants elsewhere, the person said.

But TikTok has decided to work with Chinese businesses first because China has long been the world’s factory floor with well-established export rules, the person said.

TikTok quietly launched TikTok Shop, the app’s e-commerce business, in the US last November. But TikTok Shop focuses on letting small to medium sized local vendors sell goods to TikTok users from their regions. The source said local vendors would continue to be prioritised over sellers overseas even with the launch of the “full service” programme.

TikTok’s move to grow its ecommerce business in the US comes at a time when it is facing heightened scrutiny from US officials over concerns about data security.

With the “full service” programme, merchants in China will find it easier to sell products in the US as TikTok will help them in areas such as customs clearance, warehousing and logistics, the person said.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 27^th, 2023.

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