ByteDance gives up on TikTok-like e-commerce app as world’s most valuable unicorn pushes on with cost-cutting
- ByteDance will stop updating Douyin Box and the team’s employees will be given the chance to transfer internally within the company, one source said
- The Chinese giant has been retreating from unprofitable sectors, as tightened regulations and economic headwinds weigh on the country’s internet industry
TikTok’s Chinese owner ByteDance is ceasing further support for its e-commerce app just nine months after launch, according to a person with knowledge of the matter, as the firm continues to shed struggling business units amid a slowing economy and tightened regulatory environment.
The news, which was first reported by local tech media outlet 36Kr, comes after ByteDance stopped updating Douyin Box two weeks ago. Before that, the app was updated every nine days on average, according to records on various app stores.
10:19
China’s e-commerce and live-streaming booms are opportunities for private equity, Carlyle Group says
Douyin Box last posted on its accounts on Douyin, the Chinese version of short video app TikTok, and microblogging site Weibo on August 31 and June 24, respectively. It was still available for download as of Thursday.
A Douyin Box representative said that news that the shopping app was suspending operations is untrue and that the company is not abandoning the app.
Douyin Box, which has an interface similar to Douyin, was designed to be an extension of the short video app, allowing users to watch videos and live streams plucked from Douyin that promote merchandise, most of them targeted at young people, such as apparel, cosmetics and handbags.
ByteDance had hoped to capture “new traffic” with the stand-alone Douyin Box, said the source.
However, the wildly popular Douyin already has an online shopping feature that lets users place orders and pay, making a separate app that performs similar functions redundant.