TikTok may seem like an unstoppable global entertainment machine, but at least one part of the company’s offering isn’t completely wiped out: TikTok is scaling back its live commerce plans in Europe and the US. financial Times Reportedly, the initial launch just hasn’t been successful.
TikTok has been testing live shopping in the UK since late last year, starting with a multi-brand event called “On Trend” last December. but theft reported that shopping livestreams haven’t attracted a large audience or spurred many sales, and some creators involved in early TikTok Shop projects have opted out entirely. TikTok had so far been planning to launch Shop in Germany, France, Italy, and Spain, and was hoping to launch in the US later this year, but now told theft That it is currently focused only on making the product successful in the UK. It also lives in many countries in Asia, where the concept is more mature.
Live online shopping, led by creators and influencers, is a huge business for ByteDance, the owner of TikTok. Douyin, the Chinese version of TikTok, which is also owned by ByteDance, has turned those live sales into giant cultural events that bring in big business to retailers, creators and platforms alike.
But as of now, there isn’t much proof that the live e-commerce model will work everywhere. Sure, QVC and the home shopping network were once huge successes in the US, and more and more users are buying products through Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube, but many platforms have tried to make live shopping work and now So far no one has succeeded. Also, as social shopping continues to grow, the competition to house that purchase is going to be fierce. Even Amazon is investing heavily in the shopping stream!
Still, you should not exclude TikTok. The app remains central to the culture, and where large numbers of people spend their time and grow their money. There’s no questioning TikTok’s commitment to the idea, either: the company has been building and testing dedicated shopping experiences for over a year, and is currently testing a TikTok Shop tab in the app in Indonesia. . If there’s one company that can make live social shopping work outside of Asia, it’s probably TikTok. But it’s too big if.