Jakarta –
Project S, which was launched by the TikTok application, is rumored to be able to kill millions of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) in Indonesia. So the question now is, what exactly is Project S TikTok?
Launching from the Financial Times news site, Sunday (23/7/2023), Project S is an e-commerce platform launched by TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance. This platform was reported to have been operational in the UK market on June 21, 2023 yesterday.
Unlike the TikTok Shop which operates as an online sales platform where merchants can showcase and sell their products, Project S is a platform where companies directly sell their own wares.
“TikTok is expanding its online retail offering, with its Chinese parent company selling products via the viral video app as the group seeks to challenge competitors, such as Shein and Amazon,” wrote the Financial Times.
In implementing this Project S, TikTok account owners in the UK can use a new shopping feature in their TikTok application called Trendy Beat. This feature offers popular items, such as a tool for extracting earwax or brushing animal hair off clothing.
It was reported that all the advertised goods would later be shipped directly from China, and sold by a company owned by TikTok registered in Singapore. The model is similar to the way Amazon creates and promotes its own line of best-selling products.
That way, through this feature companies can take advantage of TikTok’s knowledge of products that are currently viral and allow them to acquire or create these items themselves.
Meanwhile, according to six internal sources familiar with the matter, Project S is being led by ByteDance’s head of e-commerce, Bob Kang.
He deliberately developed this feature to compete with rival companies such as the fashion giant Shein and the Temu application, a site that sells cheap products.
“Bob Kang is obsessed with Temu and copying his success, and he thinks they can do this by incorporating themselves into the supply and sales process,” said one of the internal sources.
Even to support the implementation of this S project, ByteDance has recruited a number of employees from Shein. This shows the seriousness of the company in competing with rival companies.
“ByteDance realized they wanted to build their own brand on the TikTok app rather than creating independent apps like Shein and Temu,” said another employee.
(rrd/rir)
2023-07-23 09:31:54
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