TikTok will launch its own e-commerce business

Soon you will be able to buy products directly from TikTok. The social media company reportedly plans to launch an e-commerce business selling made-in-China products to its US consumers.

The name of the central marketplace on the platform has quite the ring to it: the "TikTok Shop Shopping Center," and apparently that's not a typo.

According to the Wall Street Journal, the e-commerce business will expand its existing TikTok Shop program where consumers can shop directly from Lives, videos, and creator or brand profiles. But now TikTok will be the retailer of products doing everything from purchasing the products from suppliers to marketing, storing and distributing the items, rather than just being a marketplace for other retailers to sell merchandise.

The Wall Street Journal reports TikTok's e-commerce business could launch as soon as August. TikTok's deepening foray into the e-commerce world appears to be an effort to compete with Chinese companies Shein and Temu, which have found great success in the US. E-commerce also diversifies TikTok's revenue stream away from just advertising.

But will TikTok users want to purchase clothing directly from the social media app? And will this move give rise to OOTD videos where every single item is from the platform itself?