TikTok Offers Walmart a Road Map With Chinese Cousin Douyin
- Tie-up could bolster new subscription service, ad business
- CEO McMillon seeking to expand beyond brick-and-mortar roots
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Walmart Inc.’s jump into the bidding for TikTok jolted investors and technology experts alike. What comes next could be even more disruptive, with the big-box American retailer taking a page from the playbook of TikTok’s Chinese counterpart.
At first glance, a brick-and-mortar giant whose core shoppers grew up with rotary phones and three television channels isn’t the likeliest candidate to own an internet app that’s wildly popular with Generation Z. But a closer look at the retailer’s digital ambitions shows the move is part of a broader long-term play to bring more shoppers, advertisers and vendors into the fold as the lines between content and commerce continue to blur.