Amazon competes with Temu and Shein with the discount shop “Amazon Haul”.

Amazon has released its answer to Temu and Shein's discounted, low-cost stores. The Amazon Haul Store, currently available exclusively through the mobile app or mobile web browser, offers similar mass-produced, discounted items, mostly shipped from China. This is a departure from Amazon's long-standing reputation as a fast delivery powerhouse, as even Amazon can't speed up the time it takes to receive these goods from abroad.

The landing page for Amazon Haul is even reminiscent of Shein and Temu in design: items appear in grids rather than the typical Amazon listing, and shipping times and star ratings are only visible when you click on an item. Some items are marked with rocket ship emojis, indicating that this $4.99 iPhone 16 Pro case is “selling fast”! Or you might see a fire emoji proclaiming that the price of a $2.89 three-pack of mesh laundry bags is “insanely low.” Like its competitors, Amazon Haul also sells clothing ($16 for men's golf pants or $4.99 for women's '80s-style leg warmers). In the Staples section you will find a selection of sponges, resistance bands, hoodies, silicone baking mats and socks.

“While Amazon continues to offer over 300 million items with fast, free delivery for Prime members […] We also hear from customers that they would sometimes like to purchase products at extremely low prices, even though some may take a week or two to arrive,” Amazon wrote in a blog post.

Temu and Shein have been heavily criticized for their impact on the environment, a byproduct of their global shipping, and the waste caused by fast fashion. Both companies have also been the subject of consumer protection investigations in the European Union, where regulators are investigating the possible use of addictive design patterns and illegal products.

Despite the controversy surrounding them, these low-cost providers remain incredibly popular with Generation Z. According to a study by app intelligence firm Appfigures, Temu was the most popular app among U.S. users ages 18 to 24, with nearly 42 million downloads in that demographic in January and October 2024. For Shein, that estimate is about 14.7 Millions of downloads, although it's possible that the difference in download numbers is so large because Gen Z users have already downloaded Shein, which has been around longer than Temu.

A risk for Shein and Temu is that consumers may not feel comfortable making purchases from unknown sellers who could potentially be misleading; Consumers already have greater trust in Amazon, but the company works with similar sellers of bulk goods, mostly based in China. However, Amazon says it vets sellers in advance. If customers want to return their purchase, they can do so for free within 15 days as long as the item costs more than $3.

It's a dubious time for Amazon to invest in this business model, as President-elect Donald Trump has proposed imposing a 60% tax on imported Chinese goods. However, this bargaining plan is not set in stone – it is common for politicians to change their campaign platform after winning a victory.

However, the popularity of Chinese e-commerce shipments has attracted bipartisan attention. The Biden administration has already proposed measures to Congress to address what it calls “significantly increasing abuse” of the de minimis exemption by Chinese e-commerce companies. The de minimis exemption allows shipments valued under $800 to enter the U.S. duty-free, helping retailers like Temu and Shein maintain such low margins.