TikTok Looks to Tackle E-Commerce Giants Like Amazon With Its Latest Move The social media upstart-turned-giant looks to be scouting fulfillment centers and has posted jobs in e-commerce operations.
By Gabrielle Bienasz Edited by Jessica Thomas
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It looks like someone else is breaking into e-commerce.
TikTok, the short-form video app that has spooked the likes of Meta and YouTube, has posted jobs in the past two weeks indicating it is hiring for warehousing, delivery and other e-commerce supply chain roles.
Axios first reported the news.
Competitors have already tried to steal creators away from TikTok by promising a more outright connection between the number of followers they have and what they're paid (something TikTokers don't always have in direct proportion.)
TikTok offers various monetization opportunities, from its creator fund, which pays creators to post, to LIVE Gifts, which allows followers to tip creators while they are streaming live on the app.
The social media company first got into e-commerce in 2020 with TikTok Shop, a partnership with Shopify. It's built on that partnership since, and this move will more firmly entrench it in the e-commerce world.
Tiktok, which reportedly has a difficult working culture, posted a series of roles like "Business Solutions and Merchant Development Manager, Global Fulfillment Center" and "Senior Logistics Solutions Manager, Transportation."
The latter job description says "The e-commerce industry has seen tremendous growth in recent years and has become a hotly contested space… With millions of loyal users globally, we believe TikTok is an ideal platform to deliver a brand new and better e-commerce experience to our users."
Another role TikTok posted involves creating fulfillment centers in Seattle — the hometown of e-commerce king Amazon.
TikTok told Entrepreneur via email that it is "focused on providing a valuable shopping experience in countries where TikTok Shop is currently offered across Southeast Asia and the UK, which includes providing merchants with a range of product features and delivery options."
