Rumor Has It: ByteDance Is Launching A Cross-Border eCommerce Platform

Multinational internet technology company, ByteDance, is rumored to be launching an eCommerce app for international shoppers in October, nearly ten months after chief executive Zhang Yiming hinted at the company’s cross-border ambitions.

The move will enable TikTok’s parent company to take on Alibaba’s AliExpress, which sells products made in China to people living outside the country. AliExpress was founded in 2009 and, to date, covers over 200 markets and serves more than 150 million users outside China, making it the largest cross-border eCommerce player in the country.

Over the past month or so, ByteDance has contacted many big sellers in eastern China and has invited the latter to participate in platform testing, according to reports. The project is believed to be codenamed “Magellan XYZ.”

The move comes on the heels of Amazon’s attempt to block more than 50,000 Chinese retailers for alleged “suspicious behavior,” such as soliciting fake reviews.

Chinese media outlet, The Passage, was the first to report the news.

Originally published at https://retailbum.com on September 27, 2021.