Amazon has finally debuted its long-rumored rival to Temu, the online retailer known for steeply discounted merchandise.
Amazon’s new digital storefront, introduced Wednesday, is called “Haul” and showcases items under $20, like $1.29 earrings and $7.99 women’s leggings. It offers additional discounts for orders above $50 and $75, as well as free shipping on purchases of $25 or greater, though delivery can take a week or longer.
Amazon Haul doesn’t appear to offer any special perks to members of Amazon’s popular shipping and entertainment membership program, Prime.
The new section, labeled as being in “Beta,” or test phase, is currently only available through Amazon’s mobile website and app. It features merchandise including fashion, accessories, home, beauty, and electronics.
In a departure from the rest of the Everything Store, the new storefront employs liberal use of emojis, neon colors, and sections such as “Social faves” and “Crazy low.” It also sends onscreen notifications to shoppers in an attempt to increase their order sizes, such as “Don’t stop now! Add $10.04 for 5% off.”
Temu, along with TikTok’s Shop marketplace and fast-fashion giant Shein use similar mechanisms to urge shoppers to spend more and complete their purchases quickly. Overall, the Amazon Haul effort appears aimed at attracting younger shoppers looking to be entertained by browsing and hunting for bargain-basement deals.
Amazon has long excelled at offering an efficient, utilitarian shopping experience to consumers with an intent to purchase a specific type of product or brand. But it has struggled over the years to develop a similar winning strategy for inspiring shoppers interested in the online equivalent of window shopping or treasure hunting for impulse purchases.
This latest attempt is no doubt inspired by the frenetic rise of Temu, the ultra-popular shopping app that launched in the U.S. just two years ago and is already among the top shopping apps globally, generating billions in annual revenue. Fast-fashion online giant Shein and TikTok’s rapidly growing Shop marketplace are also firmly on the radar of Amazon executives as these new rivals gobble up market share in the discount retail sector.
News of Amazon courting sellers in China for the low-price initiative was first reported months ago by Jianlong Hu, who writes a newsletter for Chinese online merchants selling internationally.
While Temu has marketed itself as Boston-based, the company has little U.S. staff and is owned by the $150 billion Chinese e-commerce giant PDD, whose stock briefly tanked in the fall after executives warned of fierce competition and “external factors” contributing to an uncertain future. Temu and other businesses shipping goods from overseas warehouses directly to U.S. customers have taken advantage of the longstanding “de minimis” trade rule that lets most of their orders bypass import duties, making it easier for them to offer bargain-basement prices.
But Temu has attempted to increase its warehousing of products in the U.S. to improve shipping speeds and prepare for a change in the de minimis rule, which has come under attack by U.S. politicians on both sides of the aisle. It’s unclear if customer orders for Amazon Haul also currently benefit from the same trade rule.
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