After winning the hearts (and especially the wallets) of Western consumers, Amazon is continuing its Chinese expansion, and is launching into low-cost once and for all. The objective of the American company is clear: to use its dominant position and its express delivery service to overshadow Shein, Temu and AliExpress, which are encountering a exponential success in the United States for several years.
It was therefore in China that the e-commerce giant gave a private conference, in order to announce its new showcase: a low-cost online platform dedicated to the cheapest products. The objective for the company is twofold: to make eyes at China, but also to differentiate its offer, by offering products at low prices, likely to attract a new audience, or to encourage consumption.
No delivery in 24 hours, but…
Concretely, Amazon’s idea will be to copy the economic model of Shein, Temu, and the large Chinese platforms, by offering items at low prices and ephemeral collections. No Prime 24-hour delivery this time, since the products will be shipped directly from Chinese warehouses. It will thus be necessary to count a ten days to the United Statesa rather reasonable deadline, which beats most of the shipments orchestrated on AliExpress, Shein or Temu.
The interest for consumers will be to be able to go directly through the Amazon marketplace (with all the advantages that this implies), while benefiting from much more attractive prices. On paper, the initiative only has advantages: the Amazon marketplace has long listed dropshipping products at inflated prices. The arrival of a low-cost platform should make it possible to clarify once and for all the platform’s offering, by separating classic products on one side, and references from Chinese factories on the other.
For Amazon, it will also be a matter of keeping an eye on a market in which the company had not really focused until now. Chinese traders, for their part, will be able to benefit from the strike force of the American giant to test new items through small batch production with consumers.
At a time when France is criticizing ultra-fast fashion, even planning to financially penalize the least scrupulous platforms on the market, Amazon’s announcement has the effect of a bombshell, which contravenes the current eco-conscious trends. The company must also take care not to let the counterfeit and dangerous products proliferate, under penalty of losing credibility.
Everything under $20
The new sales platform designed by Amazon should be launched next fall in the United States, without a specific date at the moment. As for the products offered, they should not exceed 20 dollars. In an interview with the channel CNBC, Amazon spokesperson Maria Boschetti said: “We are always exploring new ways to work with our business partners to offer our customers more choice and lower prices“.
Before announcing its new low-cost marketplace, Amazon had already affirmed its project to establish itself permanently in China. In December 2023, the company announced the creation of a technological innovation center in Shenzhen.
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