TikTok eyes a big step on US shopping business sales for second-half amid current disappointing performance: report

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TikTok eyes a shopping sales goal between $12 billion and $13 billion for the second half this year in the US, according to a 36Kr report on Tuesday. The high target was set after the short video platform fell far below expectations in the first five months.

The report quoted key data from Tabcut, a Chinese firm that tracks TikTok Shop’s performance, indicating that TikTok generated less than $2 billion in the US shopping business from January to May 2024.

Why it matters: The potential ban TikTok faces in America seems to have already hurt its growing e-commerce business in its largest user base country.

Details: TikTok, the international version of Douyin, was reportedly hoping to expand its US e-commerce business tenfold to as much as $17.5 billion this year, according to a January report from Bloomberg. TikTok has so far only accomplished 11.4% of its GMV goal in the past 5 months, the 36Kr report said.

TikTok hosted a small closed-door meeting in Shenzhen in mid-May, 36Kr added, where it invited its key domestic sellers to convey a message that the platform “remains optimistic about its prospects in the US market despite facing a political headwind.” The company also assured attendees that TikTok has comprehensive contingency plans in place even in the “worst-case scenario.”
As the latest effort to counter the US government’s request to divest or ban the app, TikTok parent ByteDance has appointed John Rogovin, a former lawyer of Warner Bros, as its global general counsel. The company sued the US government in May with the aim of blocking a law requiring it to sell its US operation or face a total ban. In the appointment announcement, TikTok said Rogovin will report to ByteDance CEO Liang Rubo, and indirectly to TikTok chief Shou Chew.

Context: TikTok Shop officially entered the US market in September 2023, although little official data has been given to the outside world regarding its merchants and sales. The platform has grown to 170 million users in the American market, according to figures released in January, up from 150 million last year.