TikTok's new Amazon copycat Shop is full of cheap Chinese goods

economictimes.indiatimes.com:

TikTok’s Shop marketplace, the video app’s biggest bet for new revenue growth, has gone live for some users in the US. So far, it’s a showcase for cheap goods from China.

The social media app’s Shop option, prominently displayed between the For You and Following feeds where users watch videos, presents a never-ending scroll of “recommended” random products, according to an early version reviewed by Bloomberg, from a $2.99 Nike sweatshirt that appears counterfeit to a $6.99 statue of a “naughty dwarf” sitting on a toilet.

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Many of the listings, including a budget planner and a waist-trainer vest, say they’re shipped from China, where TikTok’s parent company ByteDance Ltd. is based. That could reignite US regulatory concerns if it puts user data in the hands of Chinese sellers.

TikTok Shop will be competing with Amazon.com Inc. to sell a target of $20 billion in merchandise this year, Bloomberg has reported. The effort has been discussed internally as a “community commerce” effort, according to people familiar with the matter, meaning it’s meant to capitalize on the app’s potential to bring people together through their niche interests. But the early version of the experience shows no evidence of the ultra-personalized algorithm TikTok is known for in its video feed, which has been key to its success in capturing users’ attention.

Instead, Shop is plagued by the same problems with a