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To compete with low-cost fast-fashion retailers like Shein, Temu, and TikTok Shop, Amazon launched a new digital storefront called Amazon Haul on Wednesday morning, offering products at lower prices, but with fewer products. Delivery time will be longer as it will be shipped directly. It’s from a warehouse in China.
Amazon Haul launched on Wednesday. (Photo by Nathan Stark/Getty Images)
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important facts
The company says Amazon Haul, its own storefront available only on the retailer’s mobile app or mobile browser, offers a wide range of products including housewares, clothing and electronics for under $20, most for $10. It is said to be less than a dollar.
Amazon is known for fast delivery times with Amazon Prime, which offers one-, two-day, or same-day delivery, but the company says typical delivery times for Amazon Haul purchases are one to two weeks. states.
The Wall Street Journal reported that Amazon Haul’s products are shipped directly from warehouses in China, so delivery takes longer. This is in a similar way to Shein and Temu (Shein is a Chinese company and Temu is owned by Chinese e-commerce company PDD Holdings). .
Amazon says it inspects products sold on its Haul marketplace to ensure they are “safe, authentic, and compliant with applicable regulations.”
According to Amazon, items purchased for less than $3 are not eligible for returns, and items purchased for $25 or more are eligible for free shipping.
tangent
Last year, TikTok also launched its own shopping operation to compete with Tem and Shayne. The social media giant, which boasts more than 150 million users in the US, will launch TikTok Shop in September 2023, allowing users to buy and sell products directly within the app through Marketplace tabs, live videos, and video ads. It became like that. Earlier this year, TikTok said it wanted to grow its shopping business to a value of $17.5 billion in 2024. However, TikTok shops have faced some criticism, including a warning from the Better Business Bureau that scammers may be selling defective products. The left-wing group Media Matters for America said some vendors were selling pirated health products, which are prohibited by TikTok Shop rules, and earlier this year it accused a woman of selling counterfeit Ozempic on TikTok. reported that a person has been charged.
How much of a threat are Shane and Tem to Amazon?
The Wall Street Journal reported earlier this year that Amazon began to view Mr. Shein and Mr. Tem as a bigger threat than retailers such as Walmart and Target, citing people familiar with company meetings. According to the magazine, Temu’s U.S. monthly user base has increased to 51.4 million since its launch in September 2022, while Amazon’s U.S. user base has declined from 69.6 million to 67 million during this period, while Amazon. It said it has not reported any decrease in the number of users. Temu quickly rose to prominence in 2023 thanks to a major advertising campaign that included a Super Bowl commercial, positioning himself as a competitor to Shein. Founded in 2008, Shein reportedly had revenue of $22 billion in 2022 and was valued at $66 billion last year, The Wall Street Journal reported.
main critic
Both Shein and Tem have faced criticism over concerns about poor product quality and working conditions. Last year, a parliamentary inquiry into Mr Shein and Mr Tem found that there was “an extremely high risk that Mr Tem’s supply chain was contaminated with forced labor”. Congress and a coalition of state attorneys general have accused Shein of using forced labor, citing a Bloomberg report that said some of the clothing sold by the retailer was made with cotton from China’s Xinjiang region. pressured them to prove that they did not. Subject to forced labor.
Main background
Amazon is known for aggressively fighting competitors. The company reportedly formed what it called the “Wayfair Parity Team” in 2016 to compete with furniture retailers, aiming to replicate many of its products. Amazon focused on competing with Shopify in 2020, creating a task force to examine the company and replicate some of its business model, according to a Wall Street Journal report.
Read more
Introducing Amazon Haul — a wide selection of products under $20, most under $10 (Amazon)
Amazon takes on Chinese rivals Tem and Shein with new discount service plan (Wall Street Journal)
Amazon’s new focus: fending off rivals Tim and Shayne (Wall Street Journal)
