TikTok plans to promote voice shopping in the United States to compete with Amazon and Google
According to a US trademark application filed in September by TikTok's parent company, Byte Jump, the short video platform is considering releasing new technology that will enable users to shop via voice to accelerate its e-commerce efforts in the United States and compete with Amazon and Google.
The technology revolves around the "Fulfillment by TikTok Shop" project, which aims to launch goods and services related to the completion of online orders, including payment processing, transport packaging, warehousing services and processing product returns. This suggests that the company plans to launch an e-commerce logistics service for merchants, which may eventually be similar to Amazon's model.
But beyond that, the new technology may include an additional service that allows users to use voice for online shopping and financial transactions. Byte jump envisions a wide range of applications, such as remote control of lamps, televisions and air conditioners, as well as voice searches for news, weather forecasts and online encyclopedias.
While many of these applications seem to have little to do with the online order completion process, it is standard practice for companies to use expansionary language to describe goods and services when submitting trademark applications, according to a trademark lawyer.
Josh Gerben, of Gerben, a law firm, said: "it is common for a large company of the size of byte jump to describe expanding the scope of technology in trademark applications. It may involve a lot of irrelevant things, because what business people discuss at meetings and lawyers hear at meetings may be very different."
Gerben added that while TikTok can file trademark applications for any goods or services it wants, in order for the trademark to pass review, it must actually start providing those goods or services.
TikTok spokeswoman Laura Perez (Laura Perez) confirmed that the new feature was being tested in the United States, but did not provide further details. Previously, the tests were limited to the UK, Indonesia and other Southeast Asian countries. It is said that TikTok is inviting American companies to join new shopping programs, which will eventually be extended to international sellers.
Voice e-commerce has become a hot category in the technology world, as more and more home devices are supported by voice assistants such as Apple's Siri, Amazon Alexa and Google Google Assistant, although many consumers are still cautious about this form of shopping.
The idea that TikTok wants to enter this area is not surprising, as the company has been trying to enter many areas of e-commerce. TikTok has been adding staff to build a US team focused on supply chain logistics, including "planning and designing distribution centres", according to job postings.
One of the job posters read: "the e-commerce industry has achieved tremendous growth in recent years and has become a highly competitive area for leading Internet companies, and its future growth potential should not be underestimated. With millions of loyal users around the world, we believe TikTok is an ideal platform to provide our users with a new and better e-commerce experience."
This follows media reports that TikTok recently transferred a top advertising executive to focus on TikTok Shop products in the United States.
Audio technology is another focus of TikTok, which makes sound a top priority in its applications. The company has a dedicated Voice, Audio and Music Intelligence (SAMI) team dedicated to developing new audio technologies. TikTok is currently recruiting a number of positions related to speech recognition, including speech recognition scientists, who will help "build core technologies and conduct cutting-edge research in multilingual recognition".
