Amazon Strategically Targets Temu and Shein with Haul Launch

Earlier this month, Amazon announced its new ‘sub-store’ or new category within its e-commerce platform: Amazon Haul. Through this online giant, e-commerce enthusiasts will be able to purchase lower-quality items at lower prices, whether in fashion, home decor, lifestyle products, or electronics.

As in any other cheap e-commerce store, there is a minimum order amount, in this case, set at $25, and delivery is slower.

– It is important for customers to find great products at very low prices, and we continue to explore ways to collaborate with our selling partners to offer products at exceptionally low prices. Amazon Haul aims to make shopping for fashion products, home goods, lifestyle items, electronics, and more even more fun, easier, and more affordable, all backed by Amazon’s A-to-Z product guarantee so customers can shop with confidence – stated Amazon Vice President Dharmesh Mehta during the announcement of Amazon Haul.

With all this in mind, it is worth looking at who Amazon Haul is competing against. The launch of this service can most easily be interpreted as competition to Temu and, to a lesser extent, Shein. Temu is, for the uninitiated, a store through which third-party suppliers sell cheap goods of Chinese production, while Shein is more of a standalone, fashion-oriented version of the same basic concept.

Just in September 2024, the app was installed by 47 million users, according to Statista, with nearly 40 percent of all downloads coming from the U.S., making it a strong competitor to Amazon and eBay, which record ten times fewer installations. Additionally, Temu ranks among the 100 most visited websites in the world, recording significant growth of over 40 percent in the first three months of this year.

Not Everything is About Fast Delivery

According to Similarweb, in September 2024 alone, Temu had an impressive 635 million visits, with 23 percent of visitors from the U.S., highlighting the platform’s strong foothold in this key market. Shein, on the other hand, has about 88.8 million active customers, of which 17.3 million live in the U.S. The app was downloaded 238 million times during 2023, making it the most downloaded fashion app that year. Furthermore, as it is currently preparing for an IPO, Shein was recently valued at $68 billion.

Thus, large numbers revolve around cheap Chinese e-commerce, and U.S. media had previously reported that Amazon plans to launch its own discount e-commerce store with goods shipped directly from China, as it realized that customers are indeed willing to wait longer for products if it means they will receive them at lower prices.

This is a shift for Amazon, which has partially solidified its dominance in e-commerce by offering faster delivery than its competitors. The company revolutionized the world of online shopping when it first offered free two-day shipping, and since then has been accelerating delivery times. Amazon now offers delivery of products on the same or next day from the date of purchase, and in some parts of the U.S., it promises delivery within a few hours of placing an order. In any case, Haul is now a direct response to Temu, Shein, and TikTok Shop, which are increasingly capturing the global market and Amazon’s home turf, the U.S.

—

Marcel Majsan

photo Ratko Mavar

—

The launch of Amazon Haul was also commented on by the president of the eCommerce Association of Croatia Marcel Majsan.

– My impression is that this is a strategic move to ensure a presence in a rapidly growing market that could create serious problems even for larger retailers like Amazon. Additionally, this way, Amazon gains access to a younger audience, and I believe that it will significantly increase its customer base, which it can later redirect to purchasing more expensive items, or everything in which Amazon has dominated for decades – concludes Majsan.