Years ago, it seemed like TikTok might fill the void left by Vine. Now, it’s closer to becoming one big virtual department store.

TikTok is testing a new feature that will automatically identify products in videos and allow users to click into a page that displays similar items for sale. The feature is part of TikTok Shop, the app’s e-commerce platform that launched last year. It intends to combine the ease of shopping on a platform like Amazon with recommendations from TikTok influencers.

Like it was for Cher Horowitz, shopping is TikTok’s strategy for success. It’s allegedly targeting $17.5 billion in sales in the US in 2024, relying on e-commerce to sustain revenue growth beyond social media advertising. According to The Information, the company also plans to build livestreaming facilities across the US from which creators could sell products to viewers—like QVC…if it was for Gen Z and people obsessed with LED strip lights.

But the master plan could backfire

As the company leans further into shopping, it has to compete not only with established giants Amazon, Temu, and Shein but also, perhaps, against its own users. TikTok user growth is slowing down: The app saw 3% YoY quarterly growth in 2023, compared with 12% in 2022, according to market intelligence firm Sensor Tower. And there’s some evidence that TikTok Shop may be partially to blame:

• Users have reported that the new automatic shopping feature is full of cheap tchotchkes and counterfeit copies of popular items. (According to guidelines on the TikTok site, selling counterfeits in the TikTok shop is prohibited, and users who encounter them are asked to report them so they can be removed.)
• Across multiple Reddit threads and TikTok videos, users said the Shop feature diminished the app experience and ruined their For You Page.

Is the writing on the wall? Last January, Instagram removed the Shop tab from its app after backlash from some users who thought it took away from IG’s main focus. While consumers like to get their inspiration from social media, it’s not yet clear if they love shopping where they scroll.—CC

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Microsoft and Google rode the AI wave to huge quarters. Microsoft posted revenues of ~$62 billion in its fiscal Q2 ending Dec. 31, a year over year increase of 17.6% and ahead of analyst’s expectations. That was its best revenue growth in seven quarters, thanks to the release of new AI-enabled Office products. Meanwhile, Google reported strong results, too: Ad revenue at YouTube skyrocketed to $9.2 billion in Q4 of last year, up from below $8 billion the year before. Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai said YouTube is “already benefiting from our AI investments and innovation.” Alphabet’s total revenue was up 13% year over year to ~$86 billion.

UPS slashed 12k jobs. The shipping giant said it will require employees to return to the office five days a week this year as it changes how it operates amid a slowdown in demand. Revenue declined in Q4, while annual sales fell 9.3% in 2023. Amazon, its biggest customer, accounted for 11.8% of revenue last year, up from the year before, as revenue from other customers declined due to lower demand and more in-store pickups, executives said. UPS is also dealing with higher labor costs due to the deal it made with the Teamsters union to avoid a strike last summer.

The IMF has the US to thank for raising its global forecast. The International Monetary Fund—the UN’s flagship financial agency—said the global economy will grow 3.1% this year, a slight increase from its projection in October. That’s largely due to the strength of the US economy, which has defied economists’ expectations, growing 3.3% in the fourth quarter of 2023. But the improved outlook was also boosted by economic stimulus in China, which has faced deflation and a real estate crisis, among other issues. Other economies, including India, Brazil, and Russia, also performed better than expected, helping to juice the IMF’s forecast.

Years after GM discontinued the Chevy Volt and left hybrids in the rearview mirror to go all-out on EVs, the automaker is putting it in reverse. It’ll again start offering Americans plug-in hybrids that can run on gas and in all-electric mode, CEO Mary Barra said yesterday.

The company still plans to phase out gas-guzzling cars in the US by 2035, but hybrids will now serve as a stepping stone, Barra said.

The EV rush didn’t pan out

The about-face comes after key dealers pushed GM to send them hybrids since demand for EVs hasn’t been as electric as expected, per the WSJ. Despite government incentives and automakers betting big on battery-powered cars…

• Many drivers are put off by EVs’ priciness and worried about the lack of charging stations.
• Though EV sales grew 52% last quarter from Q4 2022, per Cox Automotive, many carmakers slashed prices and cut EV production goals as unsold cars began collecting dust in dealer lots.

Meanwhile, hybrids have been selling like hotcakes, helping GM’s competitor and the world’s biggest carmaker, Toyota, rake in record profits.

GM is still doing fine…profit jumped 12% in 2023, despite the autoworkers strike costing it over $1 billion last fall. And it hopes to post record earnings next year.—SK

Eat a mushroom and start believing in magical creatures, because NBCUniversal has finally released detailed plans for its new theme park, Universal Epic Universe.

The Orlando park won’t open until the summer of 2025, but here’s what to expect:

• Guests will enter through Celestial Park, an astronomy-themed centerpiece with water features and a lot of greenery.
• There will be another Harry Potter land—but unlike the other two at Universal Orlando, it will bring the Ministry of Magic to life.
• Other sections include How to Train Your Dragon: Isle of Berk, Dark Universe (focused on classic Universal movie monsters), and Super Nintendo World. What else could you possibly need?

Comcast, which owns NBCUniversal, said 2023 was the most profitable year for its theme parks division. Its existing Super Nintendo Worlds were a major factor.

And Comcast isn’t alone. It turns out buying a $14 corn dog and gawking at a giant Bowser are exactly how consumers want to spend their time. Disney, the other heavyweight in the theme park industry, saw its “experiences” category jump 16% in sales last year, making it the company’s fastest-growing division. Last year, the Mouse House said it would invest $60 billion in its parks and cruises over the next decade.—MM

Stat: A $2,250 Dior handbag is throwing South Korean politics into chaos just three months before pivotal legislative elections. First Lady Kim Keon Hee may have violated anti-bribery laws when she was secretly recorded accepting the luxury purse from Choi Jae-young, a pastor based in the US. Choi said that Voice of Seoul, a left-leaning media outlet, provided him with the bag and the hidden camera as part of an anti-corruption sting operation. He also claims Kim accepted Chanel products worth $1,340. The hullabaloo threatens the chances of President Yoon Suk Yeol’s right-wing party from regaining a majority in Parliament. A recent survey found that 56% of South Koreans believe Kim needs to apologize.

Quote: “Whiny snowflakes.”

That’s how billionaire hedge fund founder and Harvard alum Ken Griffin described his alma mater’s current students while speaking at a conference in Miami yesterday. Griffin, who gave $300 million to the Ivy League university last year, is withholding further support over what he sees as Harvard’s inadequate response to antisemitism on its campus since the October 7 Hamas attack on Israel. Griffin said he won’t support the school until changes are made, but he didn’t specify what changes he’d like to see. Claudine Gay resigned as president last month after her widely criticized appearance at a congressional hearing on campus antisemitism.

Read: Meet the “robot wranglers” who make sure androids don’t wander off at the workplace. (Wall Street Journal)

Go acoustic: This neat site allows you to play around with harmonics.

Ball out: Infographics showing how the price of Super Bowl tickets has changed—and who’s buying them (other than Taylor Swift).

Trade with Joe: The products that won the 15th annual Trader Joe’s Customer Choice Awards.

And don’t forget to floss: How a goldendoodle named Ollie is helping patients relax at the dentist.

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