Culture
Tok market: The TikTok Shop is gaining momentum.

Tok market: The TikTok Shop is gaining momentum.

One-stop Tok

Following the success of "social shopping" offerings in Asia, TikTok may soon reap retail rewards from its >150 million monthly active users in the US.

The e-commerce arm of the platform, TikTok Shop, opened up in the States this September, features a new marketplace tab on the homepage; a commission-based programme for content creators; and the ability to buy tagged products using shop links featured on livestreams and in-feed videos.

The move into the shopping sphere feels like a natural progression for TikTok, having already established itself as a hub for young people to discover new products, particularly clothing and cosmetics. Some of the app’s most popular trends, including the 6-million-post strong #tiktokmademebuyit, are related to marketing. In fact, the #tiktokshop tag itself has racked up some 5 billion views over the last 30 days in the US alone.

By allowing for in-app purchases in America, TikTok aims to raise its global gross merchandise value to $20 billion, up from $5 billion last year — pitting itself directly against e-commerce behemoths like Amazon.

However, political roadblocks remain in TikTok’s master plan. After ramping up e-commerce efforts in Southeast Asia earlier this year, its online shopping operations were banned in Indonesia just months later. And, with privacy concerns still high on legislators' radars across the US, the dance app might have a new, shop-sized target on its back.

More Culture

See all Culture
culture
Luke Kawa

Thieves are targeting “Pokémon” cards in robberies since they’ve skyrocketed in value

A real-life mishmash of different Team Rocket wannabes is having a lot more success thieving “Pokémon” cards than Jessie and James ever did in their attempts to pilfer Pikachu throughout the anime series.

The Washington Post reports on a string of DC-area heists of “Pokémon” cards, with CGC Cards Vice President Matt Quinn quoted as saying, “Any time you’re carrying around collectibles that are worth money, whether it be gold bars, Pokémon cards, coins, toy trains, or whatever it might be, you have to be vigilant with knowing that you’re carrying collectibles that can be easily stolen from you,” adding that these episodes are happening across the country.

Gotta thieve ’em all is an outgrowth of the massive boom in the value of “Pokémon” cards, with The Wall Street Journal reporting on 3,000% returns earlier this year. Their meteoric rise has been a big boon to GameStop, whose collectibles business has played a critical role in the stabilization and nascent turnaround of its operations.

Both individual cards and unopened packs have been targeted in robberies of stores and personal residences, per the Post report.

Stealing unopened packs of “Pokémon” cards is effectively thieving and buying call options at the same time: an individual pack might not be worth much on its own, but the most valuable cards in the recently released Mega Evolutions set are going for over $1,000. And at about 23 grams per pack and relative differences in security, the logistics seem a lot less onerous than trying to rob a gold dealer.

(Note: I don’t know for sure. I’m not a thief, besides that Klondike bar one time in high school.)

culture

iHeartMedia surges on report Netflix, competing with YouTube, wants its video podcasts

Video podcasts are becoming a key part of Netflix’s efforts to keep pace closely behind YouTube in the streaming wars.

According to reporting by Bloomberg, the streamer is in talks to exclusively license video pods from iHeartMedia. Shares of IHRT surged on Tuesday morning.

Under the deal, iHeartMedia, which produces shows like “Las Culturistas,” “The Breakfast Club,” and “Jay Shetty Podcast,” would reportedly stop posting full episodes on YouTube — the site that more than a billion people use to watch podcasts every month.

Netflix made a similar deal with Spotify last month and will begin streaming 16 video podcasts produced by Spotify Studios early next year.

According to the Nielsen Gauge, YouTube pulled in 12.6% of all TV viewership in September, compared to 8.3% for Netflix.

Under the deal, iHeartMedia, which produces shows like “Las Culturistas,” “The Breakfast Club,” and “Jay Shetty Podcast,” would reportedly stop posting full episodes on YouTube — the site that more than a billion people use to watch podcasts every month.

Netflix made a similar deal with Spotify last month and will begin streaming 16 video podcasts produced by Spotify Studios early next year.

According to the Nielsen Gauge, YouTube pulled in 12.6% of all TV viewership in September, compared to 8.3% for Netflix.

Latest Stories

Sherwood Media, LLC produces fresh and unique perspectives on topical financial news and is a fully owned subsidiary of Robinhood Markets, Inc., and any views expressed here do not necessarily reflect the views of any other Robinhood affiliate, including Robinhood Markets, Inc., Robinhood Financial LLC, Robinhood Securities, LLC, Robinhood Crypto, LLC, or Robinhood Money, LLC.