TikTok ecommerce is live

Author

Stephen Babcock
November 14, 2022

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Pitney Bowes launched a new piece of office equipment designed for home-based sellers – a group the shipping company sees growing rapidly. The PitneyShip Cube is an all-in-one label printer and scale, with corresponding app to connect stores and send notifications.

Direct purchasing on TikTok went live in time for the holiday season. For now, TikTok Shop is only inviting “select” US businesses. Eventually, international merchants will be able to sell through the short-form video app, as well. – Semafor

After several months of gains, consumer sentiment dipped to its lowest level since June, according to the University of Michigan. Closely-watched inflation expectations data still saw higher prices than normal, but remained relatively consistent.

Bainbridge Growth highlights a significant mix shift underway at digitally native mattress brand Purple. It now has 27 physical stores, and 3,200 wholesale distribution points. That should help boost its gross margin for the year, even though the profit metric will not reach the levels it saw in 2021. – Bainbridge Growth

Retail is the focus of the US economy this week. Walmart, Target, Home Depot, Lowe’s and Gap Inc. headline earnings calls. Meanwhile, the US Commerce Department is set to release data for monthly retail and quarterly ecommerce sales. Plus, early holiday deal events continue to roll out.

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