TikTok的兩大困擾：廉價產品和數(shù)據安全
ALEXANDRA STERNLICHT
2023-10-04
TikTok從Instagram、Snap和YouTube等老牌社交媒體巨頭手中奪走用戶后，目光又盯上美國另一家科技巨頭：亞馬遜。
TikTok人工智能技術支持的視頻平臺讓美國消費者很難抗拒，不過它轉型購物平臺的目標可能沒那么容易實現(xiàn)。
《財富》雜志采訪的幾位電子商務行業(yè)內部人士透露，由于TikTok Shop充斥著大量低質商品，再加上TikTok對客戶數(shù)據的政策讓人不放心，一些潛在的合作伙伴望而卻步。
TikTok似乎對“商店 (Shop) ”寄予厚望，上個月介紹新功能的新聞稿中，搜索主屏幕上“Shop”的位置相當明顯。TikTok的1.5億美國用戶在手機上打開應用時，就能在“推薦”和“關注”選項旁點擊“Shop”快速訪問新的購物服務。在“Shop”里，用戶可以向下滾動查找當日優(yōu)惠；查看“為您推薦”的特色品牌和產品；管理訂單、收貨地址和瀏覽歷史記錄。
如果用戶點擊夾克和褲子，可以看到介紹商品的普通TikTok視頻。從理論上說，比起在商品列表里看專業(yè)模特試穿效果，這種方式對商品的了解更全面（不過TikTok Shop聯(lián)盟會員能從中獲得銷售傭金）。
然而商品方面似乎非常偏低端。《財富》雜志第一次瀏覽TikTok Shop時，推薦的前七款產品都是中國制造，價格不到20美元。如果營銷人員和網紅不希望自己的品牌形象與低端產品和仿冒品掛鉤，這可能是勸退因素。
“賣的都是垃圾，”購物網紅布魯克·茱琳說。她在TikTok上粉絲近9萬，每月通過亞馬遜、品牌合作和創(chuàng)作者工具收入高達50000美元。茱琳在TikTok Shop中發(fā)布了一些推薦喜歡產品的視頻，但她表示，相關產品的質量和聯(lián)盟傭金都低于亞馬遜同類產品。“對于粉絲體量跟我差不多的博主來說，其實不愿意推薦這類商品。我不想推薦只能用一次就要進垃圾場的東西；主要是質量問題。”
網紅管理公司Shine talent Group的人才主管哈利·加勒表示，TikTok為了減輕人們的擔心，正吸引美國品牌入駐。“他們正努力培養(yǎng)一些真正優(yōu)秀的合作伙伴。所以我認為（Shop）今后會越來越好，”她說。
TikTok一位發(fā)言人反駁了認為商品“低質”的說法，指出該平臺才剛正式推出，公司已經聯(lián)手歐萊雅、Benefit、Revolve和ScrubDaddy等品牌。發(fā)言人還告訴《財富》雜志，已經有超過20萬賣家和10萬創(chuàng)作者參與了TikTok Shop聯(lián)盟計劃。
不過一些品牌可能會對TikTok的數(shù)據政策猶豫不決。化妝品公司Glamnetic的首席執(zhí)行官兼創(chuàng)始人安·麥克費倫告訴《財富》雜志，入駐TikTok的流程太過復雜，而且該公司不允許品牌訪問客戶數(shù)據。“公司獲得實際收入，獲取用戶的信用卡信息，（然而）不與真實的品牌分享，”討論為何旗下假指甲和睫毛公司最終決定不加入TikTok Shop時，麥克費倫表示。
“公司實際上擁有各項數(shù)據，”她談到TikToK時稱，還補充說該公司“甚至不愿跟入駐品牌共享用戶郵件信息”。
TikTok母公司字節(jié)跳動旗下的抖音直播購物非常受歡迎。這家社交巨頭希望在北美復制成功。
TikTok一位發(fā)言人告訴《財富》雜志，“Shop”會整合Shopify、Salesforce和其他電商功能，但未說明會不會與商家共享顧客郵件地址。（亞馬遜也不與商家共享顧客郵箱，因此TikTok在該方面的政策并非獨一家。）
盡管如此，對于希望與客戶建立聯(lián)系從而促進復購的品牌來說，缺乏數(shù)據可能是個問題。而且收集內容又是包括信用卡信息和郵寄地址等在內的敏感個人信息，可能導致情況更加復雜。TikTok已經受到美國政府審查。
“由于購物本質上是數(shù)據量更龐大的交易，政府對數(shù)據保護和隱私的謹慎態(tài)度會不會傳導至消費者，實際結果應該很有趣，”Slow Ventures的負責人梅根·萊特卡普在短信中表示。
智能手機一代的購物習慣
TikTok進軍電商之際，美國最大的在線零售商亞馬遜卻正進軍社交。曾經涇渭分明的在線市場如今互相融合，體現(xiàn)了智能手機一代在線社交關系和電商之間自然的重疊。
“隨著Z世代購買力增強，TikTok購物又很方便……這是個巨大的機會，可以開始了解社交商務在美國發(fā)展的真正狀況，”電商公司Commercetools首席營銷官珍·瓊斯表示。
對很多在社交媒體上長大的Z世代用戶來說，共享數(shù)據是生活中的常態(tài)。這一人群是TikTok的主流用戶，在喜歡的社交平臺購買平價商品可能足以將TikTok變成購物中心。“從Z世代用戶在產品發(fā)現(xiàn)（無意）和搜索（有意）方面的勢頭來看，接受購物也很合乎邏輯，”Slow Ventures的萊特卡普表示。“在某種程度上，平臺提供了更多選擇和便利，消費者也能從中受益。”
除了與亞馬遜競爭，TikTok Shop與Temu和Shein等中國電商網站的關系也亦敵亦友，這些網站因價格低廉的時裝很受美國消費者和網紅歡迎。在發(fā)布會上，Temu和Shein都未加入TikTok Shop。
TikTok Shop上聯(lián)盟創(chuàng)作者的報酬仍然是個很大的問號。茱琳表示，為“Shop”發(fā)布的推廣視頻收益不到100美元，與亞馬遜、沃爾瑪和每月達五位數(shù)的品牌推廣收入相比，只能算零花錢。
然而TikTok已經證明，能充分利用人工智能等技術制造爆款視頻。如果該平臺在購物方面同樣強力，創(chuàng)作者可能會改變主意。
“這是一種相當新潮的行為，因此跟蹤實際的消費者消費情況會很有意思，”萊特卡普說。“如果消費者接受度良好，創(chuàng)造者也能從中受益。”（財富中文網）
譯者：夏林
TikTok首席執(zhí)行官周受資。
TikTok從Instagram、Snap和YouTube等老牌社交媒體巨頭手中奪走用戶后，目光又盯上美國另一家科技巨頭：亞馬遜。
TikTok人工智能技術支持的視頻平臺讓美國消費者很難抗拒，不過它轉型購物平臺的目標可能沒那么容易實現(xiàn)。
《財富》雜志采訪的幾位電子商務行業(yè)內部人士透露，由于TikTok Shop充斥著大量低質商品，再加上TikTok對客戶數(shù)據的政策讓人不放心，一些潛在的合作伙伴望而卻步。
TikTok似乎對“商店 (Shop) ”寄予厚望，上個月介紹新功能的新聞稿中，搜索主屏幕上“Shop”的位置相當明顯。TikTok的1.5億美國用戶在手機上打開應用時，就能在“推薦”和“關注”選項旁點擊“Shop”快速訪問新的購物服務。在“Shop”里，用戶可以向下滾動查找當日優(yōu)惠；查看“為您推薦”的特色品牌和產品；管理訂單、收貨地址和瀏覽歷史記錄。
如果用戶點擊夾克和褲子，可以看到介紹商品的普通TikTok視頻。從理論上說，比起在商品列表里看專業(yè)模特試穿效果，這種方式對商品的了解更全面（不過TikTok Shop聯(lián)盟會員能從中獲得銷售傭金）。
然而商品方面似乎非常偏低端。《財富》雜志第一次瀏覽TikTok Shop時，推薦的前七款產品都是中國制造，價格不到20美元。如果營銷人員和網紅不希望自己的品牌形象與低端產品和仿冒品掛鉤，這可能是勸退因素。
“賣的都是垃圾，”購物網紅布魯克·茱琳說。她在TikTok上粉絲近9萬，每月通過亞馬遜、品牌合作和創(chuàng)作者工具收入高達50000美元。茱琳在TikTok Shop中發(fā)布了一些推薦喜歡產品的視頻，但她表示，相關產品的質量和聯(lián)盟傭金都低于亞馬遜同類產品。“對于粉絲體量跟我差不多的博主來說，其實不愿意推薦這類商品。我不想推薦只能用一次就要進垃圾場的東西；主要是質量問題。”
網紅管理公司Shine talent Group的人才主管哈利·加勒表示，TikTok為了減輕人們的擔心，正吸引美國品牌入駐。“他們正努力培養(yǎng)一些真正優(yōu)秀的合作伙伴。所以我認為（Shop）今后會越來越好，”她說。
TikTok一位發(fā)言人反駁了認為商品“低質”的說法，指出該平臺才剛正式推出，公司已經聯(lián)手歐萊雅、Benefit、Revolve和ScrubDaddy等品牌。發(fā)言人還告訴《財富》雜志，已經有超過20萬賣家和10萬創(chuàng)作者參與了TikTok Shop聯(lián)盟計劃。
不過一些品牌可能會對TikTok的數(shù)據政策猶豫不決。化妝品公司Glamnetic的首席執(zhí)行官兼創(chuàng)始人安·麥克費倫告訴《財富》雜志，入駐TikTok的流程太過復雜，而且該公司不允許品牌訪問客戶數(shù)據。“公司獲得實際收入，獲取用戶的信用卡信息，（然而）不與真實的品牌分享，”討論為何旗下假指甲和睫毛公司最終決定不加入TikTok Shop時，麥克費倫表示。
“公司實際上擁有各項數(shù)據，”她談到TikToK時稱，還補充說該公司“甚至不愿跟入駐品牌共享用戶郵件信息”。
TikTok母公司字節(jié)跳動旗下的抖音直播購物非常受歡迎。這家社交巨頭希望在北美復制成功。
TikTok一位發(fā)言人告訴《財富》雜志，“Shop”會整合Shopify、Salesforce和其他電商功能，但未說明會不會與商家共享顧客郵件地址。（亞馬遜也不與商家共享顧客郵箱，因此TikTok在該方面的政策并非獨一家。）
盡管如此，對于希望與客戶建立聯(lián)系從而促進復購的品牌來說，缺乏數(shù)據可能是個問題。而且收集內容又是包括信用卡信息和郵寄地址等在內的敏感個人信息，可能導致情況更加復雜。TikTok已經受到美國政府審查。
“由于購物本質上是數(shù)據量更龐大的交易，政府對數(shù)據保護和隱私的謹慎態(tài)度會不會傳導至消費者，實際結果應該很有趣，”Slow Ventures的負責人梅根·萊特卡普在短信中表示。
智能手機一代的購物習慣
TikTok進軍電商之際，美國最大的在線零售商亞馬遜卻正進軍社交。曾經涇渭分明的在線市場如今互相融合，體現(xiàn)了智能手機一代在線社交關系和電商之間自然的重疊。
“隨著Z世代購買力增強，TikTok購物又很方便……這是個巨大的機會，可以開始了解社交商務在美國發(fā)展的真正狀況，”電商公司Commercetools首席營銷官珍·瓊斯表示。
對很多在社交媒體上長大的Z世代用戶來說，共享數(shù)據是生活中的常態(tài)。這一人群是TikTok的主流用戶，在喜歡的社交平臺購買平價商品可能足以將TikTok變成購物中心。“從Z世代用戶在產品發(fā)現(xiàn)（無意）和搜索（有意）方面的勢頭來看，接受購物也很合乎邏輯，”Slow Ventures的萊特卡普表示。“在某種程度上，平臺提供了更多選擇和便利，消費者也能從中受益。”
除了與亞馬遜競爭，TikTok Shop與Temu和Shein等中國電商網站的關系也亦敵亦友，這些網站因價格低廉的時裝很受美國消費者和網紅歡迎。在發(fā)布會上，Temu和Shein都未加入TikTok Shop。
TikTok Shop上聯(lián)盟創(chuàng)作者的報酬仍然是個很大的問號。茱琳表示，為“Shop”發(fā)布的推廣視頻收益不到100美元，與亞馬遜、沃爾瑪和每月達五位數(shù)的品牌推廣收入相比，只能算零花錢。
然而TikTok已經證明，能充分利用人工智能等技術制造爆款視頻。如果該平臺在購物方面同樣強力，創(chuàng)作者可能會改變主意。
“這是一種相當新潮的行為，因此跟蹤實際的消費者消費情況會很有意思，”萊特卡普說。“如果消費者接受度良好，創(chuàng)造者也能從中受益。”（財富中文網）
譯者：夏林
After swooping in and taking users away from established social media giants like Instagram, Snap, and YouTube, China’s TikTok is going after another tech giant on U.S. soil: Amazon.
But while TikTok’s AI-driven video platform has proven irresistible to American consumers, the company’s effort to become a shopping destination is already encountering challenges that may prove difficult to overcome.
According to several e-commerce industry insiders with whom Fortune spoke, a glut of low-quality products for sale on TikTok Shop, as well as TikTok’s policies around customer data, are turning off some prospective partners.
TikTok appears to have high hopes for Shop, giving it prominent placement on the app’s search home screen in its launch earlier this week. When TikTok’s 150 million U.S. users open the app on their phones, they can quickly access the new shopping service by tapping Shop next to the famous For You and Following tabs. Within the shop, users can scroll down to find today’s deals; see featured brands and products “recommended for you”; and manage their orders, shipping addresses, and browsing history.
When users click products like jackets and pants, they can see them featured in normal TikTok videos, in theory offering a more accurate representation than a photo in a catalog featuring a professional model (though Shop affiliates receive sales commissions).
The selection seems heavily skewed towards the low end. When Fortune first browsed through TikTok Shop, the first seven products, all clothing, on the feed were manufactured in China and cost less than $20. For marketers and influencers who don’t want to attach their brand images to low-grade offerings and knockoffs, this could be a disincentive.
“It’s all garbage,” says shopping influencer Brooke JuLyn, who has nearly 90,000 TikTok followers and makes up to $50,000 per month from Amazon, brand deals and creator tools. JuLyn has posted a few videos on TikTok Shop of products she likes, but says that their quality and the affiliate commissions are lower than the Amazon equivalents. “For bigger guys like me, this is just not something that I’m going to pursue. I’m not going to sell garbage that gets one use and is thrown into a landfill; it’s totally a quality issue.”
Haley Galler, head of talent at influencer management company Shine Talent Group, says TikTok is courting American brands for Shop in order to alleviate such worries. “They’re definitely working on onboarding some really great partners that they have shared. So I think we’ll continue to see [Shop] get better and better,” she says.
A representative for TikTok disputed the characterization of the products available for sale as “l(fā)ow-quality,” noting that the platform only officially launched this week and that the company has already onboarded brands such as L’Oréal, Benefit, Revolve, and ScrubDaddy. This spokesperson also told Fortune that TikTok Shop has over 200,000 sellers and 100,000 creators participating in the TikTok Shop Affiliate program.
But some brands may balk at TikTok’s data policies. Ann McFerran, CEO and founder of cosmetics company Glamnetic, told Fortune that TikTok’s onboarding process was overly complex and that the company does not give brands access to customer data. “They’re going to start generating actual revenue and taking credit card information from all these users, [but] not sharing it with the actual brands,” McFerran said, discussing why her fake nail and lash company ultimately decided not to join TikTok Shop at launch.
“They literally own all the data,” she said of TikToK, adding that it “won’t even share email addresses” with companies.
Livestream shopping on on TikTok parent ByteDance’s Chinese equivalent Douyin is extremely popular. The social giant is hoping to replicate its success in North America.
A representative from the company told Fortune that Shop integrates with Shopify, Salesforce, and other commerce enablers, but did not address whether it shares customer emails with merchants. (Amazon does not share customer emails with merchants either, so TikTok’s policy is not unique in that respect.)
Still, for brands looking to build relationships with customers and garner repeat sales, the lack of data could be a problem. And the fact that this sensitive personal data, including credit card information and mailing addresses, is being collected by the China-owned company could create more complications. TikTok is already under scrutiny by the U.S. government, over worries that the China-owned app could be used to spy on Americans (TikTok says it does not share protected U.S. user data with China).
“It will be interesting to see if governmental wariness around data protection and privacy translates to consumer wariness as shopping is an inherently more data-heavy transaction,” says Megan Lightcap, a principal at Slow Ventures who invests in the creator economy, over text.
Shopping habits for the smartphone generation
TikTok’s foray into shopping comes as Amazon, the largest online retailer in the U.S., pushes into social. The convergence of these once distinct online markets exemplifies the natural overlap between online relationships and e-commerce for the smartphone generation.
“As Gen Z comes into their buying power, and TikTok being such a destination for them…this is a big opportunity for us to start to see what social commerce can really become in the United States,” says Jen Jones, chief marketing officer at e-commerce enabler Commercetools.
For many Gen Z users who have grown up on social media, sharing data is a fact of life. As this demographic is the backbone of TikTok, the option to buy affordable goods within their preferred social platform may be enough to make TikTok into a shopping hub. “It’s a logical step for them given the momentum they’ve amassed in product discovery (unintentional) and search (intentional),” says Lightcap of Slow Ventures. “To the extent it facilitates greater choice and convenience, it benefits consumers.”
In addition to competing against Amazon, TikTok Shop also has a frenemy-like relationship with Chinese commerce sites like Temu and Shein that have become popular with U.S. consumers and influencers for their on-trend garments at bargain prices. Neither Temu nor Shein were part of TikTok Shop at the U.S. launch this week.
Compensation for affiliate creators on TikTok Shop remains a big question mark. Julyn says that TikTok has paid her less than $100 from her Shop videos, spare change compared with her Amazon, Walmart, and brand earnings that reach into five figures per month.
But TikTok has proven that it can harness technology like AI to make videos go viral. If it can pull off the same feat with shopping, creators could have a change of mind.
“It’s a newish behavior, so the actual consumer uptake will be interesting to track,” says Lightcap. “Creator benefit will follow consumer adoption.”
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