Amazon to Take on Temu, Shein With China-Linked Discount Store

Amazon is planning to launch its most aggressive campaign yet to take on discount sellers like Temu and Shein, with a store that would ship cheap goods to US customers directly from China.

On sale at the new marketplace will be range of unbranded items, including fashion apparel and home goods, according to a CNBC report. Many of those items will be priced less than $20.

Amazon unveiled the plan to Chinese sellers at an invite-only closed-door meeting on Wednesday, according to multiple media reports.

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CNBC said a dummy visual of the discount store shown to Chinese merchants featured “a gua sha facial massaging tool, arm weights and phone cases”.

Amazon will ship products ordered through the store directly from China, instead of relying on warehouse within the US to dispatch to customers. The e-commerce giant will look to deliver the items between 9 to 11 days, according to the Information, which first reported the development.

“We are always exploring new ways to work with our selling partners to delight our customers with more selection, lower prices, and greater convenience,” an Amazon spokesperson told Reuters when contacted for comment on the report.

During Wednesday’s meeting, Amazon told Chinese sellers it would start signing up merchants this summer and begin accepting inventory in the fall.

Sellers joining the bargain site can determine their product selection and pricing, and can produce in small batches to test the demand for any new products they plan to launch.

It is not clear if these shipments will be made using a US trade provision that exempts individual packages worth less than $800 from US customs duties, Information reported.

E-commerce powerhouse Shein, which is trying to expand its market share before going public, and PDD Group-owned e-retailer Temu, depend on the expedited clearance process, which is available for direct-to-consumer shipments valued at $800 or less.

Reuters, with additional inputs from Vishakha Saxena

Vishakha Saxena

Vishakha Saxena is the Multimedia and Social Media Editor at Asia Financial. She has worked as a digital journalist since 2013, and is an experienced writer and multimedia producer. As a trader and investor, she is keenly interested in new economy, emerging markets and the intersections of finance and society. You can write to her at [email protected]