TikTok Tests In-App Shopping Feature in the U.K.
TikTok, the popular video-sharing app, is testing a new in-app shopping feature called “Trendy Beat” in the U.K. The feature offers products for sale that are shipped and sold by a subsidiary of its parent company, ByteDance. The shopping section offers popular items that have appeared in trending videos, such as tools to extract ear wax. Although the new Trendy Beat feature isn’t being tested in the U.S. just yet, it might in the future. TikTok filed a trademark application in the U.S. for Trendy Beat last month, which indicates that the test feature could eventually expand to the U.S.
TikTok’s New E-Commerce Initiative
The new e-commerce initiative is not being tested in the U.S., where TikTok is currently focused on adding new merchants to its TikTok Shop offering that lets brands sell items on the platform. The new Trendy Beat feature sees TikTok looking to challenge retail companies like Amazon and Shein, as it indicates a shift from TikTok’s current e-commerce strategy, which is mainly represented through its TikTok Shop marketplace. With TikTok Shop, the company allows brands to sell their products directly within the app, but with this new feature, TikTok would be selling its own products. The new model sees TikTok operating an e-commerce model that is similar to how Amazon Basics and Shein promote and sell their own bestselling products.
ByteDance’s “Project S”
The Financial Times reported that ByteDance’s plan to start selling its own products in the video app is internally referred to as “Project S.” The report says Project S leverages TikTok’s knowledge of products that are gaining popularity on the app, which then allows ByteDance to either acquire or manufacture those products. ByteDance reportedly uses a network of suppliers to produce these items.
TikTok’s Competitors Scaling Back on E-Commerce Efforts
It’s worth noting that although TikTok continues to work on shopping features, its competitor apps are scaling back on some of their e-commerce efforts after they failed to gain traction. Instagram removed the shop tab in January and later announced that it was dropping its live shopping efforts. Facebook also shut down its live shopping feature in August 2022.
TikTok’s Influence Over Users’ Shopping Habits
Although TikTok is still in the early phase of its e-commerce initiatives in the U.S., the app already has a notable influence over users’ shopping habits. The phrase “TikTok made me buy it” has become popular for the video app’s ability to drive impulse sales. The term now has 7.4 billion views on TikTok and the hashtag has 59.3 billion. The new in-app shopping feature would drastically drive more of these sales by offering users easy and direct access to a discovery and purchasing experience.
Conclusion
TikTok’s new in-app shopping feature, Trendy Beat, is being tested in the U.K. and could eventually expand to the U.S. The feature offers products for sale that are shipped and sold by a subsidiary of its parent company, ByteDance. The new e-commerce initiative sees TikTok looking to challenge retail companies like Amazon and Shein, as it indicates a shift from TikTok’s current e-commerce strategy, which is mainly represented through its TikTok Shop marketplace. Although TikTok continues to work on shopping features, its competitor apps are scaling back on some of their e-commerce efforts after they failed to gain traction. However, TikTok already has a notable influence over users’ shopping habits, and the new in-app shopping feature would drastically drive more of these sales by offering users easy and direct access to a discovery and purchasing experience.