TikTok wants to become the QVC for the digital generation

TikTok has focused on U.S. shoppers in a bid to become like QVC — the popular West Chester-based home shopping chain — for the digital generation, write Isabelle Qian, Emily Rhyne and Danielle Miller for New York Times.

The social media platform has opened a studio in Manhattan’s Garment District, where it’s teaching aspiring social media entrepreneurs different ways to sell products live on TikTok.

TikTok launched an in-app purchases feature in the U.S. last September, hoping to turn some of its more than 170 million U.S. users into buyers on the company’s platform.

To reach these users, the company enlisted the help of digital marketing agencies that specialize in live streaming. The same strategy is followed by sister app Douyin, which has already surpassed $200 billion in online shopping in China.

TikTok ultimately wants to make e-commerce its new revenue source by charging commissions to sellers on transactions made through its own store.

The company hopes to succeed where Instagram and Facebook failed, as both abandoned live shopping last year.

Read more about TikTok wanting to become like QVC New York Times.

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