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A TikTok ban could hurt Amazon sellers looking for alternatives

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In March The US House of Representatives overwhelmingly passed a bill that could force ByteDance to achieve this eliminate TikTok or face a ban from US app stores. Ma lot of the discussions and debates surrounding it centered around America data security and the fitting to speechhowever the potential move also highlights something else: TikTok is increasingly focused on e-commerce, however the interplay of tech giants and geopolitics is putting pressure on smaller sellers.

Over the past few months, buyers – many from China – have been looking out Amazon alternatives have began coming to TikTok to sell clothes, cosmetics, electronics and plenty of other products to US buyers via TikTok Shop. In interviews with TechCrunch, sellers in Shenzhen – a Chinese megacity that could be a major trading hub for Amazon sellers – said they felt a collective sense of frustration over rising geopolitical tensions and “helplessness” over a possible TikTok ban.

“The situation is not under our control,” a retailer specializing in maternity and kids’s products told TechCrunch. “It’s just hard to know how the situation will develop.” Because existing supply chains are difficult to shift, “we just have to play it by ear.” (The sellers asked to stay anonymous resulting from political sensitivity.)

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The TikTok Store officially launched in September 2023 and already serves 200,000 sellers. However, since then, no updated data has been released on what number of sellers are currently on the platform, how much products are sold there, or how much is being sold elsewhere (and where else that could be).

Tests from Jungle Scout, an information analytics provider for Amazon, nonetheless, gives some idea of ​​TikTok’s impact on e-commerce. It found that 20% of Amazon sellers, brands and corporations plan to expand to TikTok Shop this yr. Before the present political backlash, ByteDance supposedly projected that it had the potential to grow its U.S. e-commerce business tenfold this yr to $17.5 billion.

TikTok is not the only platform on the list of shops looking for more channels beyond Amazon to expand their customer base. Its growth is a component of a bigger shift we’re seeing in alternative marketplaces like Temu, attracting more attention not only from buyers but additionally from Chinese exporters and e-commerce sellers. And Amazon is there apparently I listen to itwhich is one other sign that alternative solutions are gaining popularity.

TikTok didn’t immediately reply to a request for comment.

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A latest approach to sell and buy

TikTok has been attempting to grow its e-commerce business since its U.S. launch last September.

The app is thought — or infamous, depending on who you consult with — for how tightly it controls what content is shared with whom. The TikTok store also has a heavy dose of curation.

Unlike Temu, known for its seas of low-cost white-label products sourced from Chinese factories and sold on to U.S. consumers, TikTok’s strategy is to advertise and highlight more branded goods, making it a more direct competitor to Amazon.

TikTok can be attempting to attract sellers with more traditional grants. According to reports, with a view to encourage sellers to sell goods at a major discount through the recent Black Friday sale, TikTok gave grants to those sellers to cut back their prices by as much as 50%.

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Incentives and algorithms aside, sellers were focused on selling through the app just because TikTok’s short-video platform generates massive engagement. According to a survey conducted by TabcutChinese performance monitoring company TikTok Shop, almost 70% of sellers reported year-over-year sales growth in the primary 11 months of 2023.

This can be borne out by consumer behavior, where influencer-recommended products proceed to grow in popularity, particularly amongst desirable younger consumers.

According to Jungle Scout, nearly 20% of consumers began searching for products on TikTok in the primary quarter of 2023, up 44% from the previous yr. While 56% of all consumers still preferred to start out their product search on Amazon, 40% of Gen Zers preferred TikTok search engine over Google.

The high concentration of young buyers will not be surprising considering that data shows that 52% of TikTok users within the U.S. are between the ages of 18-34 Pew research. TikTok has the potential to vary the best way younger generations of Americans shop online.

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In addition to counting on its momentum, TikTok revolves across the media to convey its message.

Earlier this month, business research firm Oxford Economics published a report report on TikTok’s impact on the U.S. small and medium-sized business sector It was funded by TikTok and, perhaps unsurprisingly, provided clear support for TikTok’s economic impact: it was estimated that presence on the platform (either through promoting or just marketing through accounts ) generated $14.7 billion in revenue for the 7 million U.S. small and medium-sized businesses that used it.

Amazon competition?

TikTok appears to be serious about entering e-commerce, however the situation continues to be in flux. On the one hand, the corporate – even within the face of a possible U.S. sales ban or forced sale – continues to introduce latest e-commerce features resembling latest video shopping format it was presented at a conference this month. On the opposite hand, it modifies or enforces seller policies seemingly on the fly, trying to seek out a approach to thrive in a very glaring highlight.

“The internal management of TikTok (the shop) is a bit chaotic in the mean time. It’s a brand new platform, so it hasn’t began oppressing sellers, but the principles are still changing,” said a lamp seller who has been selling on Amazon since mid-2010.

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One of those principles appears to be related to what algorithms reach to consumers. Sellers outside China say TikTok’s U.S. store has stepped up efforts in recent months to prioritize U.S. stores over foreign ones. Sellers tell TechCrunch this has led to the creation of black market “agents” — parties that intermediate transactions between foreign sellers and U.S. residents, who in turn arrange TikTok stores that appear U.S.-owned but are literally run by foreign merchants.

Retailers are wanting to hop over these hurdles to grow their user touchpoints and diversify their channels as one giant emerges after one other.

“Margins are shrinking on Amazon and competition is getting fiercer because of Temu, so TikTok gives us another option,” the lamp seller said.

To assess TikTok’s impact on Amazon, “we need to understand the entire U.S. retail market,” said Richard Xu, a partner at Starting Gate Fund, which invests in cross-border retail solutions between China and the U.S.

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E-commerce covers approx 15% in line with the US Department of Commerce, subsequently “If we’re talking about just the small share of the e-commerce sector on the Internet, there’s not much to discuss,” Xu suggested.

However, in case your TikTok Shop strategy is primarily focused on bringing offline businesses online for the primary time, this could be a really big move. “(Using) live e-commerce to enable small shops and offline stores to participate, the potential is quite significant.”

In any case, while 15% seems small, the number continues to be significant – $285.2 billion – so the potential for TikTok Shop is big, even when it only captures a small slice of the present e-commerce pie.

Juozas Kaziukenas, founding father of Marketplace Pulse, an e-commerce analytics company, doubts that TikTok will ever replace Amazon. “It does not provide a wide range of choice and fulfillment, and buyers in the West are accustomed to search engine-driven e-commerce,” he said. “But many people use TikTok for hours every day, so they sometimes make purchases on it.”

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“In the United States and other Western countries, shopping apps have developed in parallel with entertainment or connectivity apps such as social media. We are used to downloading different things from different applications rather than doing everything in one place,” he added.

“Today, social media apps like TikTok are trying to get a handle on shopping before retailers like Amazon embrace social media (e.g. through Amazon Inspire). However, the status quo of different apps serving different needs remains.”

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This article was originally published on : techcrunch.com

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Tensor9 helps suppliers implement software in any environment using digital twins

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Enterprises must access latest software and artificial intelligence tools, but they’ll not risk sending their sensitive data to external software suppliers as a service (SAAS). Tensor9 He tries to help software firms to get more corporate customers, helping them implement the software directly in the client’s technological stack.

TENSOR9 transforms the software supplier code into the format needed to implement their client in the technological environment. Tensor9 then creates a digital twin of implemented software or a miniaturized infrastructure model of implemented software, so TENSOR9 customers can monitor how the software works in their customer environment. TENSOR9 will help firms to be placed in any premise, from the cloud to a bare server.

Michael Ten-POW, co-founder and general director of TENSOR9, told Techcrunch that the pliability to tendsor9 to send software to any assumption and using digital double technology in order to help in distant monitoring, helps to face out from other firms, comparable to Octopus implementation or non, which also help firms implement software in the client’s environment.

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“You can’t just throw the wall software, or it is very difficult to throw the wall software and know what is happening, be able to find problems, debrieve them, fix them,” said Ten-POW (in the photo above, on the left). “They see how it works, they can debate it, can log in and understand what problems are and fix them.”

He said that time is suitable for Tensor9 technology on account of the wind from the creation of AI. Companies and financial institutions wish to simply accept AI technology, but they’ll not risk sending their data to third parties.

“Enterprise search seller can succeed, say, JP Morgan and say:” Hey, I’d love access to your entire six data parabetts to construct an intelligent search layer in order that your internal employees can confer with the company’s given company, “it is not possible to work,” said this-POW.

Ten-Pow, a former engineer in AWS, said he had a “long, quite winding path” to run the tensor9. He came up with the company’s idea, working on one other potential concept that failed. He spent some time, wondering if he would discover an answer to make it easier for software suppliers to accumulate a SOC 2 certificate, a frame compliance frame to help them unlock customers who required their suppliers.

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Although it failed, he discovered from clients’ connections that what firms really wanted was software to act in their very own technological environment. But many programming firms, especially startups, shouldn’t have any resources to provide a specially to order for each company customer.

This sentiment became the premise of Tensor9, which Ten-POW began in 2024. Later this 12 months he brought two of his former colleagues, Matthew Michie and Matthew Shanker, as co-founders.

The company found early grip with AI. Since then, they began to expand to work in other industries, including: attempting to get your hands on enterprises, corporate databases and data management. The company currently cooperates with AI, including: 11x, REELL AI and DYNA AI.

TENSOR9 BootstrePPRE for the first 12 months, and recently raised a round of $ 4 million, led by Wing VC with the participation of UP Ventures levels, Devang Sachdev with the Ventures model, Nvangels, Angelic group of former employees of NVIDIA and other Investors of Angels. This POW said that the involvement of investors with this idea was not too difficult, for the rationale that VC they talked to see how their portfolio firms struggle with this exact problem. Tensor9 simply needed to steer investors that they were an appropriate team for work.

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“We have a simple model, but there are many complexities under the covers, which makes it happen, difficult technical challenges that we solved to make it happen,” said Ten-Pow. “I think it was one of the things that helped us convince investors to invest in us.”

The company plans to utilize funds for employment and construct one other generation of its technology in order that it could cooperate with clients in larger vertical number.

“There was evolution from (on the premise) to the cloud and we think that this idea of ​​the software lives where it must and works where it must, is the next step, which is a kind of synthesis of previous local and cloud ideas,” Ten-POW said.

(Tagstranslate) artificial intelligence

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Kai Cenat teases his University of Streamer, but some influentially warn of the defect in creating content

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Twitch Megastar Kai Cenat confirmed that his once historical “Streamer University” is officially starting, a number of months after the first raising of the concept during the live broadcast of 2025. While the idea already generates noise amongst aspiring creators who’re comfortable to equalize their content of content, some are concerned about the fee for the full -time lifestyle.

According to the price trailer announcing his Streamer University contained a sentence At Hogwarts, a university, which is the scenery of a preferred film and film franchise. In the film, Cenat writes letters to potential streamers, informing them about their selection to the university.

“I am excited that I can introduce you to the most sincere welcome at the first class of Streamer University,” said Cenat. “Here you will find a school where chaos is encouraged and the content is a king … I can’t wait to see you all in the campus for the first semester.”

The original Cenat idea consisted of renting a brick university and mortar to rearrange his classes, but details about these specific logistics, the same to location, dates or exchange materials have not yet been announced; But earlier, he raised the concept that other content creators, the same to Mrbeast or Mark Rober, helping to point free university classes.

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The Cenata website, which he created for potential content creators, says that “streamers of all environments” can learn “both unrealized, upcoming and recognized creators.”

However, Mrbeast, which didn’t confirm his commitment, recently warned about the drawback of creating content during the February interview about Steven Bartlett’s podcast.

“If my mental health were a priority, I would not be as successful as I did,” said Bartlett during the discussion.

According to Shira Lazar, co -founder of Creatorcare, a newly launched Soffee service, which goals to help the creators of content in matters of mental health specific to their occupation, often content creators Fight fear, Depression and disordered food, in addition to income fluctuations.

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“() Fear of the disappearance of burning fuels in a system, which constantly requires feeding channels. I am like Joan Rivers; I will create until I die, so I want to make sure that I can develop,” said Lazar in an interview.

Amy Kelly, a co -founder of audit health therapy and a licensed family therapist, whose clients consist of many content creators, said The Outlet said that the influencers industry itself just just won’t be built to take care of the creators who feed her.

“Social media is not only a platform – it’s a recruiter,” she said, as she noticed, that 57% of teenagers gene with in the USA He said they’d turn into influential If he receives a likelihood. “We cultivate teenagers in a digital working force with proven threats to mental health – a modern equivalent of sending children to a coal mine without protective equipment.”

As Lazar said in an interview: “The creator’s economy exploded, but the support systems did not meet. Because more gene from this space is professionally entering, we must treat it like a real workplace. This means sustainable systems not only for monetization, but also for mental health.”

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10 gadgets that a mother will love about technology

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Mama list can handle it.


Mother’s Day is a great time to rejoice mothers and amazing women who raised us. However, day-to-day is a great day to honor them, because mothers are really a gift that he gives.

If your mother is a technical type that on a regular basis seems to know about essentially essentially essentially essentially essentially essentially essentially essentially probably probably essentially essentially probably essentially essentially probably essentially probably probably probably probably probably probably essentially probably essentially probably essentially probably essentially essentially probably probably probably probably probably probably essentially essentially essentially probably essentially essentially essentially probably probably probably probably essentially probably probably essentially essentially probably essentially probably probably probably essentially probably probably essentially essentially probably essentially essentially essentially probably probably probably essentially probably probably essentially essentially probably probably probably probably essentially essentially essentially probably probably probably probably essentially essentially essentially essentially essentially essentially probably probably probably probably probably essentially essentially essentially probably probably probably probably probably probably essentially probably essentially probably essentially essentially essentially essentially probably probably probably essentially probably probably probably essentially essentially probably essentially essentially essentially probably probably probably essentially probably essentially essentially essentially probably probably essentially essentially essentially probably probably essentially probably essentially essentially probably essentially essentially essentially essentially probably essentially essentially probably essentially probably essentially essentially probably probably essentially probably probably probably probably essentially essentially probably probably probably probably essentially essentially probably essentially essentially essentially essentially probably essentially essentially probably essentially probably probably essentially probably probably probably essentially essentially probably essentially probably probably probably essentially probably probably probably essentially probably essentially essentially probably essentially essentially probably essentially essentially essentially probably probably probably essentially probably probably probably probably essentially probably probably probably probably essentially essentially probably essentially essentially essentially essentially probably the most recent gadget and downloads latest applications or updates her home to an intelligent home that practically is run, here is a list of gadgets that you will offer you the likelihood to develop. From those fanciful Wellness to kitchen gadgets, which will move her cooking game to a higher level, these types will bring you the crown of a “favorite child” on Mother’s Day or day-to-day.

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Ember cup 2

Watch on TikTok

Smart MUG 2 Ember Tempeime Control is number of wonderful – this keeps drinks at a great temperature For about an hour and a half. While the cup is a bit thrown out for USD 149.95, it’s truthfully price it for mothers who’re still in motion. If you are trying to pay money for a gift that you truly use, you will offer you the likelihood to download one among the company’s sites. It is a game that changes for tea or coffee lovers.

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Roomba + 405 Combo Robot

Robot Combo Roomba Plus 405 with Dock AutoWash costs $ 599. This genius gadget not only vacuum and mops, but actually creates a map of his home and empties/cleans after ending.

Aura Carver Digital Photo Frame

The digital photo frame Aura Carver lasts for 149 USD and, as a thoughtful gift for mom, allows her to see useful family moments in a sublime, stylish frame without a mess of traditional albums or web platforms. What makes it unique is a way that everyone can remotely add photos through the applying, so the mother’s collection stays updated about latest memories. He can control how briskly slide plays or simply move.

TheRagun Mini

The latest TheRagun Mini (third generation) costs 179 USD and is such a thoughtful gift for mom. It provides serious muscle relief that he can throw straight into the purse. This is definitely a pocket tool He deals with stubborn painIt melts tension and helps her decompressed after a long day. This little gem has it back.

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Tile Pro

https://www.tiktok.com/@_mettaz_/video/7433622090697231662 ?_R=1&_T=ZT-8WGNGAV95TTT

Tile Tile Pro Bluetooth costs 99 USD, and likewise you will offer you the likelihood to catch one on the Life360 website. Why is it such a perfect gift for mom? Well, that is a lifeguard when he’s Searching for her keys or lost her purse or cannot find these other needed items. Mom can simply use her phone to trace them in a few seconds.

Smart Garden 9 Pro

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https://www.tiktok.com/@jesisdabest08/video/69537423724087045 ?_R=1&_T=ZT-8WGNOX1XZAQ

Smart Garden 9 Pro costs $ 299.95 and is sweet for mothers who’re excited about cooking with fresh herbs or who Enjoy gardening But I hate seasonal restrictions. This gadget does almost everything-in height, it robotically provides amongst the varied finest possible quantity of sunshine with these prolons and provides adequate nutrients to the roots. Lighting functions controlled by the applying allow it to manage the schedule with none confusion. She will be excited when she will offer you the likelihood to grow herbs all yr round, even contained contained throughout the midst of winter! Never more sad, withered herbs of a grocery store or a broken heart of gardening when frost strikes.

Apple Watch Series 10

https://www.tiktok.com/@jarendivinity/video/745877349853936430 ?_R=1&_T=ZT-8WGNWGOQJBO

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I just noticed Apple Watch Series 10 for $ 399. This is sweet for Have bookmarks on health informationMessage handling without searching the phone and exposing it to remain energetic. It works well for busy mothers who care about their well -being, but they don’t on a regular basis find time.

Apple Airpods 4

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Airpods 4 could possibly be amongst the varied finest possible gift for Mother’s Day. Mom would love their amazing sound quality and the cancellation of the noise that allows her Use chaos when he has to. They work like magic also with all its Apple devices in retail for $ 179. Regardless of whether he gets into your favorite melodies, receives connections or wander off in podcasts, these small ear inserts are delivered. Oh, and likewise you will offer you the likelihood so as in order so as in order so as in order so as in order so as in order so as in order so as in order so as in order so as in order so as in order so as in order so as in order so as in order so as in order so as in order so as in order so as in order so as in order so as in order so as in order so as in order so as in order so as in order so as in order so as in order so as in order so as in order so as in order so as in order so as in order so as in order so as in order so as in order so as in order so as in order so as in order so as in order so as in order so as in order so as in order so as in order so as in order so as in order so as in order so as in order so as in order so as in order so as in order so as in order so as in order so as in order so as in order so as in order so as in order so as in order so as in order so as in order so as in order so as in order so as in order so as in order so as in order so as in order so as in order so as in order so as in order so as in order so as in order so as in order so as in order so as in order so as in order so as in order so as in order so as in order so as in order so as in order so as in order so as in order so as in order so as in order so as in order so as in order so as in order so as in order so as in order so as in order so as in order so as in order so as in order so as in order so as in order so as in order so as in order so as in order so as in order so as in order so as in order so as in order so as in order so as in order so as in order so as in order so as in order so as in order so as in order so as in order so as in order so as in order so as in order so as in order so as in order so as in order so as in order so as in order so as in order so as in order so as to add a personal accent, engraving it together together along together along along together together along along along together along along along together along together together together along along along along together along together along along along along together together together along along together together together together together together together along along along together along along together together together together together together along along together along along together together along together together together along along together together together together along along together together together along along together together along together along along together together together along along along together along along along along along together along together along along together along together along along along along together along together together along along along together together along along along together along together together along along along together together along along together together together together along along together together along along together together along together together together along along along along along together along together together together together along along together along along together together along along along together together along together together along together together together along together along along along along together along together together together together along together together together together together together along along along along along together together along together together along along together along along along along along together along along along together along together together along along along together together along along together together together together together along with her name or sweet message.

Philips Hue Smart Light Starter Set

https://www.tiktok.com/@rustandtrust/video/7479953867074047278 ?_R=1&_T=ZT-8WGO3NCA0P0

Check the Philips Hue Smart Light starter kit for mom, starting from 199 USD. It is sweet for mothers who deserve a little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little little bit of magic of their day-to-day lives. She would love the potential of adjusting the mood by moving light colors Transform the atmosphere of each room. The voice control function allows mom to manage the lighting without getting up from a comfortable place. In addition, there’s a Bluetooth control directly from mobile devices. Trust me, nothing says “I appreciate you”, very very comparable to the gift of atmosphere and convenience, in a single.

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Levoit Core 600s Smart Air Ofurifier

Smart Air Purifier Levoit Core 600s currently costs USD 299 at levoit.com. Perfect for a mother who deserves easy respiratory. It changes games for mothers coping with allergies Or who’s special to handle up your personal home in health. It is admittedly cool that it could thoroughly be controlled using application or voice commands.


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