ByteDance, owner of social media platform TikTok, has set up an ecommerce business unit.
In Brief:
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The unit will be led by Kang Zeyu, former head of the company’s overseas projects.
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The company has already set a gross merchandise volume target of $28.3bn for 2020.
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ByteDance hopes to capitalise on China’s growing “livestreaming ecommerce” sector.
What does this mean?
Livestreaming ecommerce is a growing trend in China at the moment – it’s being referred to as the new “go to” option for Chinese shoppers. Marrying influencer culture and FinTech, it allows people to watch videos and reviews of products in order to research and then purchase them seamlessly.
