- Key Points
- Amazon plans to expand its discount storefront that competes with ultra-cheap Chinese e-commerce companies like Temu and Shein.
- The company is eyeing a launch of Amazon Haul in Europe later this year, sources told Experssepaper.
- Amazon debuted Haul last year, offering makeup, apparel, accessories and other items that are often priced at or below $20.
Amazon
is attempting to expand its rivalry beyond the United States to include Temu and Shein. According to two people who are familiar with the situation but asked not to be identified because the plans are confidential, the business plans to launch its discount storefront in Europe later this year under the name Haul. According to recent job postings, Amazon intends to expand its global rollout. According to one listing, the business wants to hire a software development engineer for the Haul team to assist with a global launch. The position was advertised on Amazon.com, but it has since been removed. A senior product manager is needed to help with a Mexico launch in another position. This month, both openings were advertised.
A representative for Amazon stated that the company did not have any information regarding its plans for Haul, which The Information had previously reported on. In a statement, the spokesperson stated, “We are always exploring new ways to work with our selling partners to delight our customers around the world with more selection, lower prices, and greater convenience.” The launch of Haul was months before the expansion. The online store was unveiled by Amazon in November, and the company described it as an “engaging shopping experience that brings lower-priced products into one convenient destination.” Most of the items in the haul are less than $20, and you can only access them through Amazon’s mobile app.
Amazon is responding to the rise of Temu, Shein, and TikTok Shop, all of which are connected to China, the world’s second-largest economy, with Amazon Haul. Over the course of the past few years, the platforms have experienced a meteoric rise in popularity in the United States thanks to their ability to entice bargain-hungry customers with low prices on a variety of goods, including clothing, cosmetics, and household goods.
Similar to Temu, Haul offers extremely low-priced goods like $1 cosmetic bags, $1 eyelash curlers, and $2.99 cubic zirconia rings. Although Haul is still in beta for U.S. customers, Amazon has continued to improve the service, indicating that the company expects it to become a more integral part of its online store. According to the job listing, which has since been removed, the S-team of top executives led by Amazon CEO Andy Jassy has set goals for this year to make Haul “Go Big” in the United States and around the world. There may be obstacles in the way when Haul launches in Europe. One of the sources says that Amazon would likely use plastic packaging for haul shipments, which would go against its regional sustainability goals. In 2023, the company switched to making deliveries to Europe using only recyclable paper bags, cardboard boxes, and envelopes—or, in some cases, no additional packaging at all. To monetize Haul in additional ways,
Amazon is following in the footsteps of its previous online store. This month, the company started displaying sponsored products in some of the Haul search results. These products let sellers pay to have particular items appear at the top of the page. Over the years, the company has added more sponsored items to search results on its desktop website and mobile app. They make up the majority of Amazon’s advertising revenue, which will total $56.2 billion in 2024. Within the Haul homepage,
Amazon has added curated storefronts from lifestyle influencers. One of them features “fashion picks” from TikTok influencer Michaela Delvillar, who is listed as a “Top Creator” on her Amazon storefront and has more than 150,000 followers. Despite President Donald Trump’s criticism of the practice, Amazon is expanding Haul, which purchases goods from sellers based in China. The de minimis rule, which allows exporters to ship packages into the United States that are less than $800 in value duty-free, was suspended by Trump earlier this month and then reinstated. Once the Commerce Department and customs officials implement systems to process and collect tariffs on the millions of de minimis packages that enter the United States each day, the loophole is anticipated to be closed once more.
China accounts for a significant portion of those packages. In an interview with Bloomberg Television on Thursday, Jassy was questioned regarding the de minimis scrutiny. He stated that for Haul, Amazon has a “certain number of items that are shipped in that way,” but probably fewer than Chinese e-commerce companies such as Shein and Temu.