Amazon takes on Temu with ‘Haul’ online storefront

AMAZON.COM on Wednesday (Nov 13) launched an online storefront designed to compete with Temu, the low-cost shopping app that gained traction with shoppers who trade longer shipping times for rock-bottom prices.

Amazon Haul focuses on selling items for US$20 or less, or what Amazon calls “crazy low prices.” The name is a play on social media “hauls,” where people show off their purchases.

The selection focuses on clothing, home goods, jewellery and electronics. 

In a blog post, Amazon said the new service is available in its shopping app and mobile website.

The app showed a US$3 (S$4) iPhone case, a four-pack of Christmas socks for US$6.98 and a US$3 and a US$14 women’s crewneck fleece. Most products are priced at US$10 and less, CBS News reported.

Temu, a unit of China’s PDD Holdings, and Chinese online fashion retailer Shein have won over many Gen Z shoppers and other bargain hunters by offering low-cost clothing, electronics and other items that typically ship directly from manufacturers in China. At the same time, US consumers are still feeling the bite of inflation that hit a 40-year high during the Covid-19 pandemic.

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Amazon Haul purchases are delivered in one to two weeks, longer than regular Amazon items. The company charges a US$3.99 shipping fee that’s waived for orders larger than US$25.

The company has heard “from customers that sometimes they would love to shop ultra-low-priced products even if some of them take one to two weeks to arrive,” Amazon said in a blog post published on Nov 13 that described the service.

The Seattle-based company started courting China-based sellers for the service earlier this year. Amazon also cut the fees it charges merchants who sell cheap clothing. BLOOMBERG