TikTok Shop Wants to Beat Amazon at Its Own Game
Since launching a US web store in September, the Chinese social-media company has been luring Amazon merchants and employees.
Arlene Resendiz, an influencer known as the Kanoodle Queen, livestreams herself playing the popular puzzle game on TikTok and earns commissions on sales tied to her promotions.
Photographer: Alisha Jucevic/BloombergEarlier this year, Scott McIntosh was invited to peddle his combination phone/cup holder on TikTok, the social-media app that has attracted 150 million US users.
TikTok was offering to pay for shipping and to cover discounts of up to 30% even though it would pay him full price on each sale. It seemed too good to be true, especially when compared with the fees McIntosh pays to sell his wares on Amazon.com and Walmart.com. The catch: He’d have to make product videos—lots and lots of product videos—and post them to the platform.