A strategic move into shelf-based e-commerce! Douyin has launched its standalone shopping app 'Douyin Mall'

Douyin has launched an independent shopping-focused app —Douyin Mall a strategic move to develop its shelf-based e-commerce.

The Douyin Mall app

In April 2021, Douyin's e-commerce president, Kang Zeyu, first proposed the concept of 'interest-based e-commerce.' Over the next three years, Douyin continuously amplified the influence of interest e-commerce. In 2023, Douyin's GMV was estimated to be around ¥2.2 trillion (≈$0.3 trillion) , the equivalent to about 'half of Pinduoduo.'

Douyin's e-commerce GMV comes 'content-based' (livestreams by influencers, brand livestreams, short videos) and 'shelves-based' (Douyin Mall, product cards, etc.) business. According to Douyin's 2023 e-commerce annual report, although livestreaming + short video accounts for 87% of e-commerce GMV, the sales growth is coming from products on shelves, which grew 435% in 2023.

Douyin's development of shelf e-commerce has driven much of this growth. However, the transaction scale is gradually approaching the limit of Douyin's 'content + "shelves' model, which is likely to affect the content experience of Douyin users. Hence, the launch of the Douyin Mall app, which provides both 'content' and 'e-commerce' with relatively independent development space. This may be a feasible approach to solve problems such as a 'strong but unstable traffic explosion' and 'high return rate and low repurchase rate.'

Revenue splits from Douyin’s 2023 Annual Report

When comparing the Douyin Mall app with the Douyin Mall webpage, it's worth noting that there has been an emphasis on 'low-price flash sales.' Products like tissues for ￥0.01 and phone cases for ￥0.01 yuan, labelled with 'subsidised by xxx yuan,' are mostly priced under ¥10 (~$1.40). This shift aligns with Douyin e-commerce's strategic focus on a 'price advantage' this year.

The Douyin Mall app (left), and the Mall page on the original Douyin app (right). The Douyin Mall app emphasises on low price product slash sales, priced as low as ￥0.01

In addition to 'low prices,' the second highlight is 'synchronized content' on the Douyin Mall app. The app synchronizes users' content preferences across both platforms, allowing them to seamlessly access product recommendations and shopping links from their favourite creators while browsing and shopping on Douyin Mall. But users can’t post videos with the shopping-focused app.

Taobao and JD.com stand as strong competitors in the domain of shelf-based e-commerce. Douyin Mall app, as a new shelf-based shopping app, has not introduced any revolutionary innovations in its model. The significance of a shopping-focused app for Douyin may lie more internally—by filling the gap in the its shelf-based e-commerce, Douyin can sustain its growth and break through existing limitations of 'interest-based e-commerce' model.