ALBAWABA – TikTok will launch an e-commerce platform in August to sell made-in-China goods in the United States (US), Gulf Business reported Wednesday.
TikTok will store and ship items on behalf of manufacturers in China, and will handle all marketing, transactions, logistics, and after-sale services, according a Wall Street Journal report.
Overall, Chinese e-commerce platform Temu’s US sales surpassed Shein’s by 20 percent in May, according to Bloomberg.
Its gross merchandise volume, which is total sales before expenses, jumped from $3 million, in September 2022, to $192 million in January, according to data firm YipitData, via Gulf Business.
Nonetheless, Shein continues to reign the fast-fashion industry with annual sales figures exceeding $58.5 billion, as reported by Reuters.
Now, TikTok is hoping to replicate the platforms’ success by launching multiple services, such as the TikTok Shop marketplace. The center will integrate different channels where users can view and buy goods from one single page, the WSJ report added.
It aims to quadruple the gross merchandise value — or total transaction amount of goods on the platform — to $20 billion this year globally, from less than $5 billion last year, sources told the paper.
The WSJ quoted sources as saying that in March, TikTok’s e-commerce team was tasked with examining the business models of its fast-growing rivals. Two months later, the platform launched its own version to rival theirs in the UK and Saudi Arabia.
The app is currently poaching talents from Temu and Shein, according to job recruiters.
TikTok has reportedly also told fast-fashion suppliers to refer to Shein’s standards for some product details such as the size system, according to Gulf Business.
