Discounts and promotions draw shoppers like moths to a flame. People can't just look past the deals especially if the discount is taking a significant amount off the list price. TikTok is well aware of this effect and is hosting its own Black Friday promotion.
TikTok on Black Friday
The short-form video app is becoming the hub that Elon Musk wishes X could be. Other than browsing videos and trends, people are now using it to search for recipes, restaurants, tutorials, and more. To encourage users to buy from its own marketplace, TikTok will start hosting deals.
The holiday season calls for big discounts, especially since buyers are flocking to online shops for some holiday shopping. Following in Amazon's footsteps, TikTok is reportedly subsidizing up to 50% discounts, as reported by The Verge.
It's likely part of the company's efforts to gain popularity among US shoppers. TikTok just released the shop feature in the US last week, so it's relatively new, although the platform already launched the marketplace feature in other countries months earlier.
A TikTok spokesperson already confirmed the plans for the promotion. Black Friday will go live starting November 23rd at 8 p.m., while Cyber Monday will start on November 28th expected to end after two days on November 30th.
The platform's shop allows users to become merchants to sell products directly through TikTok's in-feed videos, live videos, and product showcase tab. The company is even offering to ship the products through its own fulfillment center.
In order to become a seller on the app, a user will need to go through a registration process, starting with signing up with an account. Then, an application needs to be filled out which includes a certificate of incorporation, a US passport, or a US driver's license.
What's left after that is to wait for the application result through an email, which can tale one to two days. After becoming a seller, TikTok will take a certain amount from each sale as a commission fee. The rate is still in the testing stage and will be updated as needed.
TikTok as a Search Engine
Internet users' reliance on the entertainment app continues to grow as they use TikTok as a search engine instead of Google. After all, it offers more comprehensive information since it's in video form and searchers will not be limited to just photos and texts.
Instead of going through Google for recipes or YouTube for cooking tutorials, users would rather search through TikTok since it provides the necessary information in under ten minutes. With the limited time, content creators tend to skip through the unnecessary dialogue.
It's also the best place to look for product reviews since creators try out the product themselves and provide informative ratings. Even Wikipedia recognizes how people now rely on TikTok for information. The app now contains snippets from the online encyclopedia for certain entries.
The snippets contain links to Wikipedia pages, which do not require the user to exit the app. Given the app's reputation for misinformation, the additional information from Wikipedia could be helpful.
