TikTok plans to launch e-commerce shops in Spain and Ireland, aiming to revive in the EU

Bloomberg News reported that TikTok, which is under the umbrella of ByteDance (BDNCE), intends to launch an in-app shopping platform in Spain and Ireland as early as October.

The purpose of this move is to resume business expansion in Europe, which had been stagnant. The report added that in recent weeks, the company has notified partners, including member stores and creator agencies, to prepare for the launch of TikTok Shops in the two European countries, citing the stories of those involved.

This launch will be on a smaller scale than previously anticipated. However, it is said that preparations are underway to expand the same platform in other European countries next year.

As a TikTok spokesperson said, the report added that the company intends to continue experimenting with this new commercial opportunity to support the business and enable the community to get involved with the product.

TikTok Shop employs approximately 40 staff members in Spain, making it one of the largest e-commerce divisions in Europe for the company. The company is also looking for Spanish-speaking human resources in Madrid and London for positions such as shop logistics, compliance, and strategy.

The fact that it is planning a small-scale launch in Europe may suggest that the company is trying to expand its reach without receiving further scrutiny from EU authorities.

Last week, the EU General Court rejected a lawsuit brought by ByteDance (BDNCE) against the European Commission's decision to designate TikTok's parent company as the gatekeeper. In 2023/9, the European Commission first designated 6 gatekeepers, including Chinese tech giant Bytedance, based on the Digital Markets Act (DMA). DMA is a law that certifies large-scale online platforms as “gatekeepers” and establishes a series of objective standards to ensure that they behave fairly online and leave room for competition.

There is a possibility that TikTok Shop will compete with rivals such as Shein and PDD's Temu.

In May, it was reported that TikTok stopped plans to develop e-commerce businesses in several European markets and instead aimed to focus on growth in the US.

The US remains TikTok's most important market, with 0.1 billion 70 million monthly users. The company aims to grow its US product handling volume tenfold to about 17.5 billion dollars this year.

However, TikTok is in a legal dispute with the US government. In April, US President Joe Biden signed a bill prohibiting TikTok in the US unless the Chinese parent company ByteDance withdraws from the app within about 1 year. In response to this, TikTok and ByteDance filed a lawsuit against the US government.