Is Amazon Trying to Buy TikTok?
It’s déjà vu for many TikTok users, as the delayed ban on the use of the video-sharing platform in the United States is set to go into effect. Ahead of that April 5 deadline, it was reported that retail giant Amazon may be putting in a bid for TikTok’s U.S. business.
A story by the Associated Press cited an anonymous Trump Administration official, who revealed to The New York Times that Amazon had made a late offer to buy TikTok. The source said the message was shared in a letter to U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and Vice President JD Vance.
[RELATED: Why TikTok Is Another Retail Competitor]
Other companies and investment groups have expressed interest in purchasing the popular TikTok app in the United States from its China-based parent company ByteDance, including Oracle.
As Amazon continues to build its e-commerce offerings, expand into physical retail and invest in its AWS business, social commerce would be another kind of venture for the company. Diversification is part of its strategy, evident in news this week that Amazon is beta testing a new feature, Buy for Me, that would help customers using the Amazon Shopping app to find and seamlessly purchase certain items from other brand sites if the products are not currently available in Amazon’s store. At one point, Amazon offered a feature called Inspire inside of its app that would allow users to share videos promoting sponsored products; that platform was subsequently discontinued as Amazon focused on other features like the generative AI-powered Rufus conversational shopping assistant.
Progressive Grocer reached out to Amazon for a response about the reported TikTok offer. A company representative affirmed that Amazon does not comment on rumors or speculation.
Seattle-based Amazon is No. 2 on The PG 100, Progressive Grocer’s 2024 list of the top food and consumables retailers in North America. The company was also named among PG’s Retailers of the Century.
