The Chinese social network TikTok has chosen Spain and Ireland as the starting points for the European launch of its in-app shopping platform, TikTok Shop, which could take place next October, Bloomberg reported on Tuesday.
According to anonymous sources cited by the outlet, TikTok Shop has already hired around 40 workers in Spain, making the Iberian country one of its most important hubs for e-commerce, and is also looking for new Spanish-speaking employees in Madrid or London for areas such as logistics, regulatory compliance or strategy.
TikTok initially planned to bring Shop to Spain, Germany, Italy, France and Ireland in the past few months this year, but it delayed that expansion to focus first on the US market, the largest thanks to its 170 million monthly users there.
The company is now preparing a European launch of this service – the fastest-growing service in its business – on a smaller scale than initially planned, with a view to bringing the portal to other European countries in 2025.
In the last weeks, TikTok has put its partners, including retailers and creative agencies, on notice to be prepared for the upcoming debut of Shop in Spain and Ireland.
TikTok Shop combines video content with e-commerce offerings, which sets the platform apart from rivals like Instagram and YouTube and allows it to consider competing against firms like Amazon and other Chinese rivals in the sector such as Temu, from Pinduoduo, and Shein.
Kevin Chenwho ran the news app ByteDance -developer of TikTok-, Toutiao, will be in charge of Shop’s European expansion.
The news comes just days after the General Court of the European Union (GCEU) dismissed the appeal of ByteDance against its designation by the European Commission as “gatekeeper“in the digital market, which entails compliance with a series of obligations on basic services such as search engines, online markets or advertising.
According to Bloomberg, focusing on Shop’s development in Europe would be a sign that TikTok is seeking to expand its reach while trying to avoid further run-ins with community authorities.
With information from EFE and Bloomberg
Source: Gestion
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