TikTok tests e-commerce feature that identifies objects in videos as it ramps up online shopping ambitions

TikTok is testing a feature that could make all posts shoppable, the social media company’s latest move to create a multibillion-dollar US e-commerce business.

The new feature uses technology to identify objects in a video automatically. Then it encourages viewers to “find similar items on TikTok Shop” by clicking into a page of products, according to screenshots and posts viewed on the app by Bloomberg. Previously, only approved influencers and brands could tag products when they posted content to the app.

A TikTok spokesperson confirmed the feature is an early test.

The Chinese social-media company last year launched the US version of TikTok Shop – an effort to combine the ease of shopping on Amazon.com. with the product discovery afforded by social-media sites like Instagram. The new business is a top priority for TikTok, which aims to sell US$17.5 billion worth of goods in the US this year, people familiar with the matter said earlier this month.

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The launch of Shop so far has received mixed reviews. Merchants interviewed by Bloomberg in December applauded the app, having seen record sales for their small businesses through the first holiday season as TikTok bankrolled discounts and free shipping for shoppers. In November, which included Black Friday and Cyber Monday, more than 5 million new customers bought something, the company has said.

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