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Why Amazon Decided to Cozy Up to Meta and TikTok
Amazon is trying a new tactic as its e-commerce growth slows: letting shoppers make Amazon purchases on TikTok, Instagram and other apps. That could help turn social media companies into bigger shopping rivals long term though.
Over the past two years, Amazon CEO Andy Jassy has sat down with some of the most high-profile CEOs in the social media business to discuss a range of topics including Amazon Web Services, which many of the social media companies use. Also on the agenda: letting Amazon sell its goods within TikTok, Instagram and other apps through a new kind of advertisement on those services.
The meetings brought Jassy together with the likes of Meta Platforms’ Mark Zuckerberg, TikTok’s Shou Zi Chew and Snap’s Evan Spiegel, according to people at the companies briefed on the meetings. Before those meetings happened, though, there was debate inside Amazon about whether such social media partnerships were a wise idea.