Yesterday, Amazon (NYSE: AMZN) launched “Amazon Haul” which is a new digital storefront that offers goods at low prices. The move ended month of rumors of Amazon creating such a platform to take on Temu and SHEIN. While the platform was expected for quite some time, the official announcement comes days after Donald Trump was elected as the 47th US president. Trump is known as a China hawk and has vowed to impose massive widespread tariffs on Chinese imports.

Here’s everything we know about Haul, why Amazon is launching it, and what differentiates the platform from the likes of Temu and SHEIN which are immensely popular in the US.

Amazon Launches “Haul” Low-Cost Store

Amazon has said that deals on Haul would start as low as $2.99 and the store would have a wide array of products below $20 and most of these would be below $10. The company has launched Haul in beta on its shopping app which will be available to customers once they update the app. Among others, Haul will feature products in the fashion, home, lifestyle, and electronics categories.

amzn

Source:

While the delivery time for these products is between one to two weeks, AMZN said that they are protected by its A-to-z guarantee which protects customers irrespective of whether the product is sold by Amazon or its selling partners.

“Amazon Haul aims to help make shopping for fashion, home, lifestyle, electronics, and other products even more fun, easy, and affordable, all backed by Amazon’s A-to-z product guarantee so customers can shop with confidence that the products they’re purchasing are safe, authentic, and in the condition expected,” said Dharmesh Mehta, vice president of Worldwide Selling Partner Services at AMZN.

Mehta’s comments seem to be a swipe at Temu and SHEIN as many buyers on their platforms have complained of receiving goods that are different from what they ordered However, despite concerns over the quality of products on Temu and SHEIN, their popularity has grown multifold – thanks to the ludicrously cheap products that they offer.

AMZN Will Not Charge Shipping Fees for Orders Over $25

Amazon said that Haul will have its own shopping experience, search, cart, and checkout. In an apparent bid to encourage customers to order multiple products in one order, Amazon said that shipping will be free for orders over $25. Moreover, there would be an additional discount of 5% for orders over $50 and 10% off on orders valued at $75 or higher. The company offers free returns on Haul but only for purchases over $3.

To shop on the new storefront, users need to search “Haul” in the app search bar or navigate to Amazon Haul from the main menu. Users can also visit www.amazon.com/haul on their mobile device browser.

Haul is currently available only on mobile and the company plans to refine the platform based on customer feedback. “It’s early days for this experience, and we’ll continue to listen to customers as we refine and expand it in the weeks and months to come,” said Mehta on Amazon’s blog.

Haul Is AMZN’s Answer to Temu and SHEIN

Haul is AMZN’s answer to Temu and SHEIN, which have both been incredibly popular in the US. To be sure, in absolute terms, Amazon has a much bigger user base in the US with around 180 million Prime subscribers in the country. However, while both Temu and SHEIN’s presences have grown exponentially in the US, Amazon’s growth has sagged, particularly in North America where revenue growth has fallen to single digits.

Sky Canaves, principal analyst on retail and e-commerce at eMarketer told USA Today “The launch of Haul is a defensive move on Amazon’s part to match Temu and Shein’s compelling value proposition of very low prices with slower delivery.” Canaves added, “While Amazon’s dominant position in US ecommerce remains unchallenged, it has undoubtedly lost some share of consumer spending to these newer platforms when it comes to inexpensive, unbranded products.”

The business model of SHEIN and Temu revolves around the “de minimis” provision of Section 321 of the Tariff Act of 1930, which waives import tariffs if the value of imported shipments does not exceed $800. These companies ship products directly from suppliers – predominantly in China – to the consumers, avoiding tariffs entirely. Given Trump’s nearly fanatical obsession with tariffs, it seems doubtful that the de minimis loophole will last much longer.

Temu and SHEIN Exploited De Minimis Rule

The de minimis rule is already in trouble with many US lawmakers arguing that it’s unfair that that these companies can evade tariffs by exploiting the de minimis rule. A report released by the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party found that SHEIN and Temu accounted for 30% of the shipments made under the de minims rule. Also, the annual shipments under the rule have exploded to over a billion – growing by over 7x over the last decade.

Meanwhile, in August, a bipartisan group of lawmakers which include Senate Finance Committee Chairman Ron Wyden, Banking Committee Chairman Sherrod Brown, and Republican Senator Susan Collins proposed a bill to curb the apparent exploitation of the de minimis rule by Temu and SHEIN.

In September, the Biden administration tightened the screws on the de minis rule exploitation and said that products that are subject to US-China tariffs won’t be eligible for a customs exemption under the de minimis rule.

“The majority of shipments entering the United States claiming the de minimis exemption originate from several China-founded e-commerce platforms, putting American consumers at risk, undercutting American workers and businesses, and resulting in the importation of huge volumes of low-value products such as textiles and apparel into the US market duty-free,” said the White House statement.

Amazon Might Also Ship from Warehouses in China

Judging by the prices of various items in Amazon’s Haul page, it seems like they are mostly sourced from Chinese suppliers. The product assortment is also quite similar to that of Temu and SHEIN with products like women’s elastic stretch cinch belts, colorful holiday table runners, and touchscreen winter gloves.

Moreover, the higher delivery time which extends to up to 2 weeks suggests that these goods would be shipped directly from warehouses in China.

It meanwhile remains to be seen whether Amazon also follows the exact same business model as Temu and SHEIN. Some users have commented that the platform seems to have borrowed from its competitors in terms of interface. However, Amazon Haul has one massive advantage over the Chinese fast-fashion giants: a seamless and trustworthy returns policy.