Walmart’s bid for TikTok reveals retailer’s big digital ambition

TikTok could become a platform to sell Walmart’s products, catapulting the 58-year-old Arkansas retailer into the emerging realm of ‘social commerce’ against Facebook and its Instagram platform. — AP

Walmart Inc’s jump into the bidding for TikTok jolted investors and technology experts alike. What comes next could be even more disruptive.

At first glance, a brick-and-mortar giant whose core shoppers grew up with rotary phones and three television channels isn’t the likeliest candidate to own an Internet app that’s wildly popular with Generation Z. But a closer look at the retailer’s digital ambitions shows the move is part of a broader long-term play to bring more shoppers, advertisers and vendors into the fold as the lines between content and commerce continue to blur.