Douyin, China’s version of TikTok, will charge restaurants, hotels to promote on the platform
- Under the new policy, restaurants will pay 2.5 per cent of the order’s transaction amount, while hotels will be charged 4.5 per cent
- With daily active users of 600 million, Douyin is approaching saturation point in China and is up against fierce competition from rival video platforms
Douyin, the Chinese version of TikTok operated by Beijing-based tech giant ByteDance, will start collecting software service fees from offline merchants, including restaurants and hotels, that use the popular short video app to promote their business.
The new rule, effective Wednesday, applies to all merchants that offer so-called group buying deals, or discounts that apply to bulk purchases of one item by multiple customers.
The commission rate varies from 2 to 8 per cent for different product categories, according to a statement on ByteDance’s OceanEngine site, which offers tips to merchants and short video creators on how to expand their influence on Douyin.
For example, restaurants will pay 2.5 per cent of the order’s transaction amount, while hotels will be charged 4.5 per cent. The highest rate, 8 per cent, applies to wedding services.
The charges reflect efforts by Douyin’s owner to generate more revenues from the popular short-video service that is increasingly being used by merchants as a marketing and sales platform.