On Friday, Amazon announced the debut of Amazon Bazaar, a new low-cost shopping destination for Asia, Africa, and Latin America that will be available separately from the main Amazon shopping app. On Bazaar, most products are available under $10, and some are as low as $2, the retailer says.
The product selection, available now on Android and iOS, will be available in its own app that’s available in Hong Kong, the Philippines, Taiwan, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, Oman, Peru, Ecuador, Argentina, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, Jamaica, and Nigeria.
Amazon says more markets will gain access to the app in the months ahead.
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 main website and app, and will remain available in its existing markets, including the U.S., UK, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Japan, and Australia.
In other markets, Amazon had already branded Amazon Haul as Bazaar, where it’s been available through Amazon’s main shopping app. That version also remains available in Mexico, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates. (Amazon using two names for the same low-cost selection of inventory is confusing! But Amazon thinks the different names “better resonate with local language preferences and cultures.”)
Image Credits:Amazon
The move to create a standalone shopping destination for its cheaper inventory signals Amazon is ramping up the competition with the low-cost Chinese shopping apps, like Temu, Shein, and TikTok (TikTok Shop), which have seen broad adoption by younger users and others without as much disposable income to spend on clothing, decor, electronics, and other household items.
The Bazaar app will offer these users “hundreds of thousands” of affordable products in categories like fashion, home goods, and lifestyle products, the retailer says. Product pages feature familiar Amazon features like customer reviews and star ratings.
Customers use their same Amazon credentials to shop and check out, where they can use Visa, Mastercard, or American Express. Orders will have to meet the local minimum purchase amount to qualify for free shipping. (This varies by market.) For smaller orders, a standard delivery fee is charged.
Shipments take around 2 weeks or less, returns are free within 15 days of receipt, and Amazon offers multilingual customer support. The app itself supports six languages: English, Spanish, French, Portuguese, German, and Traditional Chinese.
The app will also engage customers with interactive features like social lucky draws and promotions — things popularized by the Chinese shopping apps. New customers will also receive 50% off their first delivery as an incentive to try the app.
