TikTok has quietly released a standalone TikTok Shop app in four Asian countries, a sign it wants to compete with Amazon and Temu for your online shopping.
TikTok has released a separate shopping app called TikTok Shop. It is live on iPhone and Android in Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand and the Philippines. TikTok did not make a big announcement. Social media consultant Matt Navarra first spotted it.
Until now, TikTok Shop lived inside the main TikTok app. The new app gives it its own home. It offers personalized product recommendations, shopping through live streams and short videos, app-only deals, in-app checkout, order tracking and customer support.
The app's description also mentions free shipping offers, first-order benefits and "secure payments for safe checkout." The app-only deals give people a reason to buy there instead of in the main TikTok app.
TikTok did not respond to TechCrunch's request for comment. It is unknown whether the app will spread to more countries or reach the United States. If it does come to the U.S., it would face Amazon and Temu, plus Walmart and Target, whose customers are used to ordering through the stores' own apps.
There is a twist here. Amazon earlier launched a TikTok-like video feed called Inspire to pull shoppers toward its own site. TikTok is now making a similar move in reverse. It also fits a pattern. TikTok has added games, restaurant guides, sports hubs, hotel booking and microdramas, and is exploring payments.
If you are in the U.S., nothing changes today, but TikTok is building a store that could one day compete with Amazon for your purchases.
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