Global social media hit Tik Tok has suspended its e-commerce expansion plans after testing the waters in the UK, the Financial Times reported. Tik Tok launched live streaming in the UK late last year after its Chinese counterpart Douyin successfully turned its live streaming shop

According to the British " Financial Times " report, global social media popular Tik Tok has suspended its e-commerce expansion plan after testing the waters in the UK.

Tik Tok’s Chinese counterpart Douyin launched in the UK late last year after successfully turning its live streaming shopping into a lucrative business and connecting millions of content creators and online businesses to new opportunities live shopping.

Since then, Tik Tok has launched live shopping in several countries in Southeast Asia, including Thailand in April this year. Tik Tok previously planned to expand its e-commerce "TikTok Shop" business to Germany, France, Italy and Spain, and enter the US market this year. However, contrary to the company's previous ambitions, it has had to put such expansion plans on hold and now wants to focus on managing its UK operations, an attempt that has proven futile and controversial.

TikTok’s live shopping initiative in the UK failed to gain enough audience stickiness and failed to help companies increase sales. In addition, the company is facing significant public pressure after one of its senior executives reportedly opposed maternity leave. Employees at Tik Tok in the UK described the workplace as "toxic" and "based on fear," according to a report by the Center for Business and Human Rights. According to the Financial Times, half of the original employees of Tik Tok’s London e-commerce team have resigned, while other employees are “on the verge of leaving.”

While the company suspended its expansion plan, global e-commerce giant Amazon was going smoothly, launching its generous incentives and attracting many influential anchors. Amazon reportedly rewards streamers thousands of dollars for being on its live streaming platform but not on other platforms like TikTok and Instagram.