ByteDance has launched a fashion website called If Yooou while Pinduoduo started an e-commerce site called Temu, selling items from electronics to clothing.
"I think ByteDance and [Pinduoduo] are seizing an opportunity to apply their unique social commerce innovations" to overseas markets, Jacob Cooke, CEO of WPIC, an e-commerce tech and marketing firm that helps foreign brands sell in China, told CNBC.
In China, PDD has grown rapidly by building direct links with suppliers and offering big discounts. That could help when it comes to sourcing products to sell in the U.S. and selling them at low prices.ByteDance's algorithms for understanding consumers on Tiktok, "plus the potential to leverage the TikTok ecosystem for commerce, are massive advantages," Cooke said.