Amazon takes on Temu & Shein with low-priced storefront
Amazon is not sitting back while low-cost shopping apps such as Temu and Shein grow in popularity.
The e-tail giant is launching Amazon Haul, a new dedicated section of its U.S. e-commerce site and shopping app that offers fashion, home, lifestyle, electronics, and other products with what Amazon describes as "ultra-low" prices of $20 and under, and with typical delivery times of one to two weeks.
While nothing in Amazon’s announcement of Amazon Haul specifies where products sold via the storefront will originate from, media reports indicated that in a June meeting with select sellers of Chinese products Amazon said it would launch a discount storefront featuring their merchandise.
This business model would enable Chinese sellers to avoid using the hosted Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) fulfillment network to ship products to U.S. consumers, and let Amazon more effectively compete with budget-priced shopping apps that primarily sell Chinese merchandise, such as Temu and Shein.
Data from Statista and AppMagic indicates that the Temu shopping app hit 337 million downloads in 2023, or nearly 80% more than the Amazon app, and Salesforce analysis reveals that two-thirds of consumers from Western markets made at least one purchase on Aliexpress, Cider, Shein, Temu or TikTok in the first half of 2024, with 58% of them citing lower prices.
[READ MORE: Amazon reportedly preparing to directly compete with Temu & Shein]
All products sold on Amazon Haul, which will be available to U.S. customers when they next update their Amazon shopping app, are backed by the Amazon “A-to-z Guarantee” that covers product condition, including if the item is damaged, defective, or not as described. Amazon says most products will be priced $10 and under, with some as low as $1.
Customers can obtain more savings when they add items to a single order, with 5% off orders $50 and over, and 10% off orders $75 or more. Amazon Haul has its own shopping experience, search, cart, and checkout.
Amazon says it will screen the products sellers offer in Haul to ensure they are safe, authentic, and compliant with applicable regulations. Orders of $25 or more qualify for free delivery in one to two weeks, with a fee of $3.99 on orders under $25.
For any item a customer chooses not to keep, Amazon will offer free returns on all Amazon Haul purchases over $3 within 15 days of delivery and provide customers with in-person more than 8,000 drop-off locations across the U.S. including Amazon lockers, Amazon Fresh and Whole Foods Markets stores, and UPS and Staples locations.
Customers can find Amazon Haul in the Amazon shopping app by searching “Haul” in the search bar, navigating to Amazon Haul from the main menu icon, or by going to the Amazon Haul page of the e-tailer’s site on their mobile device.
"Finding great products at very low prices is important to customers, and we continue to explore ways that we can work with our selling partners so they can offer products at ultra-low prices," said Dharmesh Mehta, VP of worldwide selling partner services at Amazon, in a corporate blog post. "Amazon Haul aims to help make shopping for fashion, home, lifestyle, electronics, and other products even more fun, easy, and affordable. It’s early days for this experience, and we’ll continue to listen to customers as we refine and expand it in the weeks and months to come."
