Amazon Haul Struggles To Compete With Temu, SHEIN: Will That Change in the Near Future?

When Amazon Haul launched last November, the bar was certainly high to clear. Competitors in the space such as TikTok Shop, Temu, and SHEIN dominated the Chinese retail or e-tail landscape and had already laid claim to saturation within the established market.

A recent study provided by Omnisend, as detailed by Retail Dive, suggested that Americans were still experimenting with Amazon Haul and that SHEIN and Temu in particular had retained supremacy in the inexpensive imported good segment.

According to the data, while 24% of U.S. consumers had done business with Amazon Haul at least once, only 16% purchased items from that marketplace on a monthly basis. On the other hand, 23% of American consumers shopped SHEIN monthly, and 28% said they purchased from Temu on a monthly basis.

Things May Be Slow To Change, but Amazon Needs a Differentiator Badly: Expert

Greg Zakowicz, a senior e-commerce expert at Omnisend, told Retail Dive that part of Amazon's relatively low market share could be chalked up to simply being a new entrant into the larger game. Because consumer behavior shifts slowly, it may take time for Amazon Haul to gain traction against both Temu and SHEIN.

Beyond that, however, Zakowicz underscored the notion that Amazon Haul may simply need to increase its focus on having solid differentiators to distinguish itself from other retailers with which it shares ground.

“If Amazon wants to make a real impact, they need to create compelling reasons for shoppers to choose Amazon Haul over existing options — whether through better customer experience, faster shipping, or exclusive deals,” Zakowicz said.

There is also the matter of increased trade tensions and tariffs between the United States and its trading partners, China particularly. This represents something of a double-edged sword, as Omnisend indicated, with Amazon Haul having debuted at a difficult time as tariffs come into play. President Donald Trump recently doubled tariffs on Chinese imports to 20%, and Americans are reorienting their buying power to something of a U.S.-centric position.

“This could put Amazon Haul in a tough position — if Chinese imports become more expensive, the marketplace may struggle to compete with established players like Temu and SHEIN while also failing to attract consumers who are now more inclined to shop American,” Omnisend stated.

For its part, Amazon leadership seemed pleased with current results, having already announced plans to expand Amazon Haul both domestically and abroad over the next few years.

“First launched in November 2024, Amazon Haul is just getting started, and we’re pleased with the positive customer feedback and response so far,” a spokesperson told Retail Dive. “We look forward to hearing from customers as we continue to innovate on and further improve the shopping experience.”