ByteDance competes with incumbents for Chinese e-commerce market

Chinese unicorn ByteDance is investing in building an ecosystem of merchants under its video app Douyin. Taking advantage of the growing popularity of short videos and of the growth of live-streamed shopping campaigns in China, Douyin no longer provides links to major online retail platforms like Taobao Marketplace and Pinduoduo, but it is carving out its own niche in the e-commerce market landscape. This decision is important, as it puts ByteDance in direct competition with Chinese e-commerce giants, such as Pinduoduo, JD.com and Alibaba.