TikTok’s sister app in China, Douyin, has launched a new app focussed just on shopping, as reported by the Chinese outlet Tech Planet. Douyin Mall will enable Douyin’s e-commerce team to establish its own distinct brand identity, effectively showcase its e-commerce functionalities and strengths, and expand into international consumer markets.
A representative of Douyin told Tech Planet, “We have observed that some users have a strong demand for proactive shopping. In order to better serve these users, we at the Douyin e-commerce team launched the Douyin Mall app to help them discover great products at great prices.”
Overall, the user experience on Douyin Mall does not depart strongly from shopping on the main Douyin video-sharing app. However, side-by-side comparisons of the Douyin Mall homepage and the shopping section on the original app reveal a new emphasis on ultra-low price products. In the priority position in the top left-hand of the homepage is a “Flash Sale” banner featuring 0.01 RMB products. Following in the footsteps of Chinese e-commerce giants Alibaba, JD, and Pinduoduo, Douyin set “price advantage” as one of its strategic priorities for 2024, which will include funnelling more traffic exposure towards low-priced products.
Douyin users can access short video content from within the Mall app just as they can on the main app, but the video shooting and editing feature is absent. Users’ content preferences will be synchronised across both apps, so they can seamlessly access product recommendations and shopping links from their favourite creators while browsing and buying in Douyin Mall.
