Douyin, TikTok’s Chinese sibling, has recently shifted its e-commerce strategy to re-prioritize GMV growth over price competitiveness in an attempt to return to the GMV growth rate of over 50% it enjoyed last year. The move has been triggered by its previous low-price approach hurting sales growth, according to a report in local media outlet LatePost. The report said the growth rate of Douyin’s in-app shopping was down to less than 30% per month in the second quarter despite a more than 60% growth rate in the first two months of 2024. To compete with rival Pinduoduo, since the beginning of the year Douyin has given more traffic to merchants who agree to set lower prices, according to LatePost, but that tactic “may gradually ease” as the short video app now turns its attention back to GMV, the report cited a source close to Douyin as saying. [LatePost, in Chinese]
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