TikTok Plans Steep Holiday Discounts, Bringing Amazon Price War

Viral video app launched its Shop tab earlier this week
Social platform is luring sellers ahead of shopping rush

The popular app is known primarily for short, viral videos, and has more than 150 million monthly active users in the US, TikTok said earlier this year.
Photographer: Ore Huiying/Bloomberg

Provide news feedback or report an error

Confidential tip?

Send a tip to our reporters

Site feedback:

Take our Survey

By Spencer Soper and Alex Barinka

September 16, 2023 at 1:06 AM UTC

This article is for subscribers only.

TikTok plans to offer steep holiday discounts in a monthlong campaign that will begin in late October, according to documents reviewed by Bloomberg. The social media app aims to lure inflation-battered shoppers to its new online marketplace, taking the first shot in a price war with established competitors Amazon.com Inc. and Walmart Inc.

TikTok, owned by Beijing-based ByteDance Ltd., is hosting training sessions next week with merchants selling on its marketplace. It is offering to subsidize discounts of as much as 50% to entice sellers’ participation in its Black Friday program, which begins Oct. 27 and runs through Nov. 30, according to the documents. A TikTok spokesperson confirmed the plans.