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ByteDance eyes e-commerce expansion with app that makes it easier for sellers to manage TikTok stores

  • The TikTok seller’s app, developed in Singapore, was launched around the time ByteDance founder Zhang Yiming visited the city state, said company sources
  • Currently, the app is mainly used by merchants in Southeast Asia, according to Chinese media

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TikTok’s success is now vital for the future growth of ByteDance. Photo: AFP
Coco Feng

ByteDance has launched a seller’s app for TikTok so merchants can manage their digital stores, as the Beijing-based tech unicorn pushes into e-commerce to leverage the huge popularity of its short video platform.

The app, developed by TikTok’s Singapore-based team, was launched last week, around the time ByteDance founder Zhang Yiming visited the city state, according to three company sources.

ByteDance has been recently expanding its Singapore team to support its global expansion.

Before reaching 1 billion monthly active users in September, TikTok had made several efforts to facilitate social commerce. In February, it rolled out Seller University, a training hub to help merchants do business on popular short-video sharing app TikTok.

In the summer it piloted a TikTok Shopping feature in the US, the UK and Canada, in partnership with Shopify. The deal allowed merchants to add a shopping tab to their TikTok profiles and sync their product catalogues to create a mini-storefront on the short video platform.

The TikTok Seller app is being used mainly by merchants in Southeast Asia, according to Chinese media 36kr.

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