In China, online shopping complaints and disputes rose sharply in 2014. (Photo : www.thenextweb.com)
Chinese e-commerce titan Alibaba has reportedly invested $215 million in the American messaging app Tango as the company announced the launching of Tango shops with a new shopping feature, according to a report published on Tech in Asia.
Chi-Chao Chang, Tango VP, told the site that the company aims to provide clients with a convenient in-app shopping experience and make it social.
The report said that the new shopping feature will enable users to browse and search products. Users can also share personalized catalogs or product collections with other Tango users, as well as select and securely buy products.
Products from Tango shop's two partners, Wal-Mart and AliExpress, will be featured as well. Tango users will have access to products offered by AliExpress, Alibaba's global e-commerce platform, using the in-app search feature.
Chang said that users can also avail the special deals from both providers on a daily basis.
The report furthered that Alibaba has been following the success Tencent's chat app WeChat, which already has a booming e-commerce industry.
Tango has a very strong presence in some Southeast Asian markets, and globally, it has 300 million users, giving Tango's shops feature a lot of potential customers out there to entice.
During the launch, Chang said that the shopping feature will only be available to U.S.-based users and they have plans to expand to Southeast Asia in the "very near future." The company will also be looking to local e-commerce partners in Southeast Asia that it can add to its shop offerings.
Chang said that the company's first goal is to get users involved using the social sharing features.
"We're super excited," Chang said during the shop's launch. "We think that this is the first step into mobile commerce."
