Could TikTok, a fast-growing 3-year-old app filled with goofy videos, be the answer?
TikTok’s U.S. business appears up for grabs, with the Trump administration trying to force a sale, claiming national-security risks due to its Chinese owner, ByteDance. TikTok denies it is a risk and is suing to stop the administration from a threatened ban.
Others have reportedly emerged, but the only confirmed suitors are Walmart, teaming with tech giant Microsoft.
The big-box retailer has given only a vague rationale for why it would want TikTok, but it appears to boil down to its vast audience of young people.
TikTok’s e-commerce business is small today but it says it has 100 million users in the U.S. — incredibly, nearly a third of the country. Many are young, the type of shopper increasingly difficult to reach via traditional media and advertising.
“The future customer of Walmart or Amazon — that’s what TikTok offers,” said Amit Shah, chief strategy officer of VTEX, which creates online marketplaces for brands.
This story is from the September 04,2020 edition of AppleMagazine.
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This story is from the September 04,2020 edition of AppleMagazine.
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