According to a recent report, Chinese-owned social media platform TikTok is still planning to launch a live shopping experience in the U.S. despite a failed trial of the service in the UK.
The Financial Times reports that TikTok may still be planning to launch a live shopping service in the U.S. despite previous claims that the company had abandoned the project. TikTok is reportedly aiming to partner with TalkShopLive to launch live shopping features throughout North America.
TalkShopLive is an existing live shopping platform based in Los Angeles and is used by companies including Walmart and Microsoft’s MSN to operate shopping livestreams. TikTok could reportedly use a partnership with the company to leverage TalkShopLive’s technology allowing TikTok creators to host live shopping sessions on the app.Brands would also be able to broadcast creators’ streams to their own websites.
In July, it was reported that TikTok was scaling back live shipping in the U.S. and Europe after seeing poor results from its trial in the UK. While the company has reportedly yet to sign an official deal with TalkShopLive, it could mean that TikTok does not plan to scrap its live shopping features just yet.
If the deal goes ahead, live shopping could arrive “over the next month with large brands,” in time for the holiday season. In a statement to the Financial Times, TikTok said that it is “constantly exploring new and different options for how we can best serve our community, creators and merchants in markets around the world,” which could include “partnerships which further support a seamless ecommerce experience for merchants.”
Read more at the Financial Times here.
Lucas Nolan is a reporter for Breitbart News covering issues of free speech and online censorship. Follow him on Twitter @LucasNolan