On Friday, Amazon announced the debut of Amazon Bazaar, a new low-cost shopping destination for Asia, Africa, and Latin America, available separately from the main Amazon shopping app. At the bazaar, retailers say most items can be purchased for less than $10, with some items costing as little as $2.
This product selection is currently available on Android and iOS, but will also be available in its own app available in Hong Kong, Philippines, Taiwan, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, Oman, Peru, Ecuador, Argentina, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Jamaica, and Nigeria.
Amazon says more markets will have access to the app in the coming months.
The app has significant overlap with Amazon Haul, which launched last November as a competitor to Shein and Temu. Haul operates as part of Amazon’s core website and app and remains available in existing markets including the US, UK, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Japan, and Australia.
In other markets, Amazon has already branded Amazon Haul as Bazaar, making it available through Amazon’s main shopping app. In addition to India, this version remains available in Mexico, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates. (It’s confusing that Amazon uses two names for the same low-priced inventory selection! But Amazon believes that different names “better resonate with local language tastes and cultures.”)
The move to create independent shopping destinations for cheaper inventory suggests Amazon is increasing competition from low-cost Chinese shopping apps such as Temu, Shein and TikTok (TikTok Shop). These apps are popular among young people and other users who don’t have a lot of disposable income to spend on clothing, accessories, electronics, and other household items.
The Bazaar app will offer these users “hundreds of thousands” of affordable products in categories such as fashion, home goods and lifestyle products, the retailer said. Product pages feature familiar Amazon features such as customer reviews and star ratings.
Customers can use the same Amazon credentials to shop and checkout and use Visa, Mastercard, or American Express. To qualify for free shipping, your order must meet the local minimum purchase amount. (This varies by market.) Standard shipping charges apply for small orders.
Shipping time is approximately 2 weeks, and returns are free within 15 days of receipt. Amazon also offers multilingual customer support. The app itself supports six languages: English, Spanish, French, Portuguese, German, and Traditional Chinese.
The app will also attract customers with interactive features such as social discounts and promotions popularized on Chinese shopping apps. New customers are also offered 50% off their first delivery as an incentive to try the app.
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