TikTok has set its sights on shoppers in the United States with the aim of becoming like QVC – the popular West Chester-based home shopping network – for the digital generation, write Isabelle Qian, Emily Rhyne, and Danielle Miller for The New York Times. 

The social media platform has opened  a studio in Manhattan’s garment district, where it teaches aspiring social media entrepreneurs different ways to sell products live on TikTok. 

TikTok launched an in-app shopping feature in the U.S. last September in the hopes of turning some of its 170+ million American users into shoppers on the company’s platform. 

The company has enlisted help from digital marketing agencies specializing in live-streaming to reach those users. That is the same strategy used by its sister app, Douyin, which has already exceeded $200 billion with its online shopping business in China. 

TikTok wants to eventually make e-commerce its new revenue stream by charging sellers commissions on transactions that are made through its own shop. 

The company is hoping to succeed where Instagram and Facebook failed, as both pulled the plug on live shopping last year. 

Read more about TikTok aiming to become like QVC in The New York Times. 

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