Move over Alibaba and Jingdong, Amazon wants a bigger piece of the Chinese e-commerce pie. According to a Tech in Asia report, the company will introduce global shipping of its products to Chinese customers faster than ever starting on November 11 this year, also known in China as ‘Singles Day’.
As The Nanfang reported previously, Chinese customers will be able to order goods from Amazon’s US, German, Spanish, French, and Italian stores and have them shipped to China. Perhaps most impressive though, Amazon claims that through partnerships with EMS and UPS, international orders will arrive at your front door in as little as three days.
The plan comes on the heels of popular American megastore Costco getting in on China’s e-commerce market. Through a partnership with Alibaba, the company will ship their popular oversized products to Chinese homes, coincidentally, also in as little as three days.
Amazon is hoping to capitalize on China’s appetite for international goods, as well as the common belief that goods manufactured elsewhere are better, and in some cases, safer (see tainted milk scandal, etc.) than their Chinese equivalent.
Despite increasing competition, China’s e-commerce market continues to grow at a ferocious pace. It is anticipated that by 2015, the market will be worth $540 billion. By 2020, China’s e-commerce market is projected to be worth more than that of the US, UK, France, Germany, and Japan combined.
Whether Amazon’s Chinese expansion will work remains to be seen. They no doubt have the infrastructure to compete with Alibaba and Jingdong, but then, arguably so too does eBay, Walmart, and Best Buy, all of whom have failed miserably in China.