The strongest e-commerce in history is born? Amazon joins TikTok's bidding in the U.S., creating a complete online + offline empire.

According to the New York Times, US e-commerce giant Amazon (Amazon) joined the auction at the “last minute”, intending to acquire all of TikTok’s shares, adding another uncertainty to TikTok’s fate in the United States… (Synopsis: Trump: Sell TikTok to the United States, consider reducing tariffs on China) (Background added: Who will buy TikTok? Trump: Happy to see Musk or Oracle founder acquisition) The US government, worried that Chinese technology company WordDance’s application TikTok threatens national security and leaks data privacy, has repeatedly asked WordDance to strip TikTok from the United States, otherwise it will be banned completely. Originally, on January 19 this year, the TikTok ban should have taken effect, but with Trump officially taking office, he signed an executive order on January 20, the day of his official inauguration, announcing the ban for 75 days to April 5, giving TikTok more time to seek U.S. buyers to complete the divestiture from Byte Company. Amazon offers to acquire all the shares of TikTok At present, a number of companies have revealed their interest in the acquisition of TikTok, including Oracle, BlackRock and other American capital giants. According to the New York Times yesterday (2), the US e-commerce giant Amazon (Amazon), on the eve of the TikTok ban is about to take effect, gave an almost “last minute” offer, intending to acquire all the equity of TikTok, once again adding a change to TikTok’s fate. The strongest e-commerce in history is about to be born? We know that Amazon started as an online bookstore, but over the past three decades, it has become one of the most influential business empires in the world. Amazon’s current business can be said to be full coverage of online and offline, including: 1. Online: Amazon’s business has expanded from the original books to electronic products, daily necessities, clothing and thousands of other goods, relying on Prime membership, AWS cloud computing and data and artificial intelligence these three means, has become the world’s largest online retail platform, the latest public data shows that Amazon’s annual online retail business sales, up to $500 billion, accounting for more than 50% of the US e-commerce market share, is undoubtedly the hegemon. 2. Offline: Although Amazon started with an online business, the company continues to expand its offline business. Its strategic footprint includes Whole Foods, Amazon Go unmanned convenience store, Amazon Fresh supermarket, physical bookstore, and offline logistics network, allowing Amazon to successfully capture areas that are difficult for e-commerce to cover. According to the latest data, in 2024, Amazon’s offline retail business revenue has accounted for 15% of its total revenue, which is undoubtedly a huge success. We know that TikTok’s rapid growth since entering the US market has posed a huge threat to homegrown giants such as Facebook, Instagram Reels, and YouTube Shorts. If Amazon can successfully acquire TikTok, it can be said to be a tiger wing, for a quick example, if the function of TikTok live streaming is applied to Amazon, just thinking about it is scary. TikTok’s enhancements to Amazon will likely include: E-commerce and social alliance: Amazon’s core business as a global e-commerce giant relies on search and transactions when consumers have a clear purchase intent. However, TikTok’s social media attributes are good at guiding impulse consumption and product discovery. By acquiring TikTok, Amazon can combine its robust logistics and merchandise ecosystem with TikTok’s short video content, further blurring the line between social entertainment and shopping. Grab young consumers: TikTok’s user base is dominated by Gen Z and young millennials, which is Amazon’s relatively weak market segment. While Amazon’s traditional users prefer planned purchases, TikTok’s virality and influencer culture attracts young people to instant purchases. The acquisition of TikTok will give Amazon a direct entry point to about 170 million US users and further penetrate this group through its content ecology. Boost ad revenue: Amazon’s advertising business has grown rapidly in recent years, with more than $50 billion in revenue in 2024, largely from sponsored ads on its marketplace. TikTok provides creative advertising space for brands, and if Amazon acquires TikTok, it can combine its advertising technology (such as Amazon DSP) with TikTok’s user data to create a more accurate advertising system. Political dividends: Against the backdrop of continued U.S. government pressure on TikTok’s China background, Amazon’s successful acquisition would not only meet national security requirements, but also potentially win over the government and the public. Can an Amazon acquisition be successful? However, it is worth noting that although this acquisition seems to be of great benefit to Amazon, some analysts currently point out that the difficulty of this acquisition is not small. The primary reason may lie in concerns about monopolies. Amazon is already the world’s largest e-commerce platform and cloud service provider, and the inclusion of TikTok, a social media platform with a large user base and influence, is bound to trigger greater scrutiny from regulators. In addition, there are differences between Amazon’s core business and TikTok’s social entertainment attributes, and the synergy and strategic fit of integration have also been questioned by some people. Therefore, some analysts believe that Amazon’s current bid may be more like a strategic gesture than a determined action. But in any case, Amazon’s last-minute move adds uncertainty to the acquisition, who will TikTok end up with? It is not yet known, but it deserves our continued attention. Related stories Get TikTok on the chain! Reddit founder joins bidding team: use Polkadot to promote decentralization Trump rescues TikTok: Let the United States hold 50% of the shares to continue operating, Musk is a potential buyer? US TikTok refugees poured into Little Red Book, concept meme coin momo, REDnote… Soaring popularity 〈The strongest e-commerce in history was born? Amazon joins TikTok’s US bid, online + offline complete empire" This article was first published in BlockTempo’s “Dynamic Trend - The Most Influential Blockchain News Media”.