Walmart said on December 17 it wouldpartner with video-sharing app TikTok to sell items through livestreams on theChinese-owned social media platform, the first of its kind in the UnitedStates.

The retailer announced it was hosting aone-hour livestream on TikTok, where users can shop for Walmart fashion itemsfeatured by TikTok creators without having to leave the app,William White,Chief Marketing Officer, Walmart U.S. explained in a blog post.

It’s unclear if there will be a revenueshare on the sales made through the app. A Walmart spokesperson did notimmediately respond to a request for comment.

For the first time the TikTok communitywill have the chance to buy Walmart products at a tap of their fingers duringan hour-long shoppable variety show hosted by some of the platform’s most lovedcreators, Walmart said on its website.

Ten TikTok stars, including Michael Le(@justmaiko) who has nearly 43 million followers, will host the ‘HolidayShop-Along Spectacular’ at 8 p.m. Eastern Standard Time on Walmart’s profilepage on TikTok, it said.

"We're excited that we have theopportunity to be at the forefront of this innovation in a shoppablelivestream, a first on TikTok in the U.S.," said White.The livestream issupposed to take place on December 18 on Walmart's TikTok page.

“It gives us a new way to engage with users and reach potential newcustomers, while bringing our own brand of fun, with the help of fashion-lovingTikTok creators, to the platform,” William White said in a statement.

E-commercelivestreams see new trend

Livestreamed sales events have become hugebusiness in China for both e-commerce and video-sharing platforms as theCovid-19 pandemic shifts shopping habits online. TikTok’s Chinese version,Douyin, has one million e-retailers which turn over more than CNY600 million(USD91.7 million) a day.

This, however, will be a first for TikTokin the US.

Tech giants and social media companies inthe US have been heavily investing in making their platforms more shopping-friendly.

Last year, Amazon launched Amazon Live,where hosts talk about and demonstrate products sold on Amazon. Google’sR&D launched Shoploop, and Facebook has made shopping more prominent onFacebook proper, WhatsApp and Instagram.

But shoppable livestreams have struggled totake off in the U.S., despite their strong popularity in Chins. Walmart andTikTok’s shopping test run this week indicates they see opportunity andmomentum in the space and want to make a mark early on.

“It gives us a new way to engage with users and reach potential newcustomers, while bringing our own brand of fun – with the help offashion-loving TikTok creators – to the platform,” the Bentonville,Arkansas-based retailer said.

Without having to leave the TikTokplatform, viewers can shop for Walmart’s products as they are displayed by thehosts in unique and creative ways, such as a peep inside their closets, acatwalk in their living rooms or a fashion dance off, it said.

TikTok had already been making its way intothe e-commerce space. The app began testing new social commerce features lastyear by allowing some users to add links to their profiles and videos. Retailgiant Levi’s was among the first retail brands to use TikTok’s new “Shop Now”feature to direct users to merchandise.

Walmart is a 58-year-old American companyknown for big box stores that sell everyday goods, casual clothing, groceriesand TVs.TikTok is a Chinese-owned app that in just a few years has captivatedhundreds of millions of teens with its entertaining dance videos, lip syncingperformances and comedy routines.

At first glance, the two couldn't be moredifferent. But analysts who have watched the meteoric rise of social commercein China, a mash up of social media activity and frenzied online shopping, sayWalmart's interest in TikTok makes perfect sense.

By teaming up, both Walmart and TikTokcould boost their e-commerce operations, while giving the brick-and-mortargiant an edge with TikTok’s young user base. Walmart, which had been in talksto partly acquire some of TikTok’s operations, had indicated it wanted to bringshopping to the platform.

The retail giant will be promotingwell-known US clothing brands including Champion and Jordache as well as itsown makes Free Assembly, Scoop, Sofia Jeans and others.

“If you’re watching a TikTok video and somebody’s got a piece ofapparel or an item on it that you really like, what if you could just quicklypurchase that item?” Walmart CEO Doug McMillon said on CNBC in October. “That’swhat we’re seeing happen in countries around the world. And it’s intriguing tous, and we would like to be part of it.”

Oracle,Walmart To Invest In TikTok

This is the latest in a series of moves byWalmart to get closer to TikTok and its 100 million users in the US and 700million worldwide. It is currently in negotiations to purchase a 7.5 percentstake in the platform's global business.

Walmart had planned to invest in TikTokwhen the video-sharing app was In September, TikTok said it had reached aproposed deal with U.S. companies Oracle and Walmart.

Both companies will take part in thepre-IPO financing round for TikTok's new U.S.-headquartered company and take upto a 20-percent cumulative stake in it. Walmart, together with US computergiant Oracle, stepped forward to offer to buy a 20 percent stake, to be splitat 7.5 percent and 12.5 percent equity respectively.

To facilitate the deal, TikTok is creatinga new company called TikTok Global, as the Trump administration was concernedabout TikTok’s Chinese ownership and therefore demanded that TikTok’s Chineseparent, ByteDance, divests its U.S. operations to America.

TikTok Global will be an independentAmerican company and will be majority owned by American investors. The newcompany also has plans to bring 25,000 jobs across the country. (See ORCL stockanalysis on TipRanks).

Software giant Oracle will become itssecure cloud technology provider and will host all US user data, and ensuredata privacy to TikTok’s users in the U.S. Retail behemoth Walmart (WMT) willprovide services including e-commerce, fulfillment, payments to the new company.

"All the TikTok technology will be inpossession of TikTok Global, and comply with U.S. laws and privacy regulations.Data privacy for 100M American TikTok users will be quickly established bymoving all American data to Oracle's Generation 2 Cloud data centers, the mostsecure cloud data centers in the world," the companies said.

However, the fact that the Beijing-basedcompany will remain majority owned by the Chinese is still a bone of contentionand the proposed deal has yet to be greenlit by the US and Chinese governments.

On Sept. 15, Needham analyst Jack Andrewsassigned a Hold rating on the stock. He cited many unanswered questions relatedto the TikTok deal structure, its due diligence regarding IP, data privacy andsecurity and the chances of an Oracle-TikTok deal receiving regulatoryapproval.

He added “given the lack of clarity on thedeal and further pending news flow, we await more details to assess thepartnership’s full impact.”