From restaurant guides to payments, here’s how TikTok is building a super app

TikTok is expanding its offerings beyond social media, adding features such as a restaurant guide and peer-to-peer payments, aiming to become a 'super app' where users can perform multiple tasks. The 'Must Eat' feature uses 40 million posts and comments to provide curated restaurant recommendations, while a new payment feature allows users to send money over direct messages. This is similar to the 'super app' model seen in China with apps like WeChat. TikTok is following a similar playbook to its previous expansion with TikTok Shop, which allowed users to purchase products directly within the app. The expansion is likely driven by TikTok's new ownership by a primarily US-based company, which may be seeking to replicate the success of WeChat in the US market.